This weekend, people from all over the world will have the opportunity to witness what may be the most breathtaking view of the largest planet in our solar system this year.
As Earth’s orbit rotates our planet between Jupiter and the sun, Jupiteron Saturday will be the brightest day of the year. The gas giant will be visible all night long and, if the weather permits, will be brighter than the majority of other stars and planets in the evening sky.
Anyone with a telescope or a pair of binoculars may even be able to see features, such Jupiter’s four largest moons, Ganymede, Callisto, Io, and Europa, if the weather is clear. Galileo Galilei, an Italian astronomer, is credited with discovering the four “Galilean moons” in 1610, hence their name.
According to NASA, as night falls, Jupiter will rise in the east-northeast, among the stars that comprise the Taurus constellation.
Jupiter will be visible in the night sky around December 14 between the almost full moon and Aldebaran, a reddish-orange star that is visible to the unaided eye and shines brightest in the Taurus constellation.
In the night sky, people in the Northern Hemisphere can also keep an eye out for the three bright stars known as the Winter Triangle.
Sirius in the Canis Major constellation, Procyon in the Canis Minor constellation, and Betelgeuse in the Orion constellation comprise the celestial triangle. These stars are visible throughout the season and are frequently observed in the winter sky.
First, locate the three stars that comprise Orion’s belt in order to identify the Winter Triangle. Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, will be a little lower and to the left of the belt. Procyon will thereafter be to the left and a little higher. Looking back toward Orion will reveal Betelgeuse, a reddish star at the shoulder of the constellation.
In the meantime, both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres are seeing meteor showers. Overnight from December 13 to December 14, the yearly Geminid meteor shower will reach its zenith.
As the name implies, these shooting stars seem to emanate from the Gemini constellation; however, the meteors are actually fragments of debris from the 3200 Phaeton asteroid.
According to NASA, a nearly full moon may wipe out some of the fainter shooting stars this time around, even though the Geminids are usually one of the best and most dependable meteor showers of the year.
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