Observing

Make the most of your Jupiter observations during May

Now two months past opposition, the solar system’s largest planet, Jupiter, is highest in the UK sky before sunset and is already descending in the southwest by the time the sky is dark enough to observe it. However, there is still phenomena of the Galilean moons to see and the planet’s Great Red Spot, so make the most of your Jovian observations while you can during May.

Observing

See the Moon and Jupiter get close on 17 April

As dusk fades to dark on Sunday, 17 April, observers in the British Isles should look up to the southern sky to see the 10-day-old waxing gibbous Moon and Jupiter just four degrees apart, within the same binocular field of view. Jupiter’s largest moon, Ganymede, and second Galilean moon, Europa, provide some events for telescope owners to view at higher magnifications.

Observing

Jupiter continues to delight and amaze observers during April

The impact of a small comet or asteroid on Jupiter observed by European amateur astronomers on 17 March has heightened interest in the solar system’s largest planet. While such an event is uncommon, Jupiter and its family of four bright Galilean moons provide a wealth of other interesting phenomena to view with small telescopes during April.

News

Amateur astronomers video impact on Jupiter

Unbeknown to two European amateur astronomers 1000 miles apart capturing video of Jupiter through their telescopes in the early hours of Thursday, 17 March, their digital footage would subsequently show confirmation of a totally unexpected phenomenon — the likely impact of a small comet or asteroid on the edge of the solar system’s largest planet.

News

Solar storms ignite X-ray aurorae on Jupiter

Solar storms are triggering X-ray aurorae on Jupiter that are about eight times brighter than normal over a large area of the planet and hundreds of times more energetic than Earth’s “northern lights,” according to a new study using data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory when a giant solar storm arrived at the planet.