Jupiter – Page 8 – Astronomy Now

See the Moon join a dawn planetary parade from 7–11 March

1 March 2018 Ade Ashford

Three naked-eye planets – Mars, Jupiter and Saturn – grow in prominence in the dawn sky this month. If you wish to identify them for yourself, let the waning Moon be your celestial guide from 7–11 March. We also show you what to look for in binoculars and telescopes.

See the Moon’s dawn encounters with Jupiter, Mars and Saturn, 7–11 February

6 February 2018 Ade Ashford

Set your alarm for 6am GMT if you wish to see three naked-eye planets in the UK dawn sky this week. Find a location that offers an unobstructed view of the horizon from southeast to south and let the waning Moon be your guide to locating Jupiter, Mars and Saturn on successive mornings from 7 to 11 February.

JunoCam images Jupiter’s north polar region

27 January 2018 Astronomy Now

The JunoCam imager aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft has captured a stunning view of Jupiter’s north polar region, courtesy of citizen-scientist Björn Jónsson.

Jupiter’s colourful cloud belts

13 January 2018 Astronomy Now

Colourful swirling cloud belts dominate Jupiter’s southern hemisphere in this image captured by NASA’s Juno spacecraft and processed by a citizen scientist.

See the Moon and planets gather at dawn

3 January 2018 Ade Ashford

It currently pays to be an early riser if you wish to view the planets, for it’s all happening at dawn in the skies of Western Europe. Find innermost planet Mercury, see a near miss of Mars and Jupiter on 7 January, then a fabulous binocular conjunction of the waning crescent Moon, the Red planet and Jupiter on 11 January!

Crescent Moon joins Jupiter and Mars at dawn on 14 December

12 December 2017 Ade Ashford

While looking for Geminid meteors, observers in Western Europe should also look to the southeast about 90 minutes before sunrise to see a beautiful conjunction of a 25-day-old Moon, Jupiter and Mars on Thursday, 14 December.

Jupiter’s moons, black holes, exoplanets among JWST’s first scientific targets

4 December 2017 Stephen Clark

The James Webb Space Telescope should start returning its first scientific results by the end of 2019, and scientists recently announced a slate of observations selected to whet the appetites of astronomers who will use the multibillion-dollar facility well into the 2020s.

Jovian Tempest

19 November 2017 Astronomy Now

This colour-enhanced image of a massive, raging storm in Jupiter’s northern hemisphere was captured by NASA’s Juno spacecraft during its ninth close flyby of the gas giant planet.

The dynamic duo: Jupiter’s independently pulsating X-ray aurorae

10 November 2017 Astronomy Now

Jupiter’s intense northern and southern lights, or aurorae, behave independently of each other according to a new study using NASA’s Chandra X-ray and ESA’s XMM-Newton observatories.

See Venus and Jupiter get close at dawn on 13 November

10 November 2017 Ade Ashford

At the beginning of civil twilight on Monday, 13 November, observers in Western Europe and the British Isles should seek out a viewing location offering an unobstructed view very low to the southeast horizon to see brightest planet Venus and largest planet Jupiter separated by little more than half the width of a full Moon.