Don't miss Jupiter and its 5 Galilean satellites shine near the crescent moon tonight

[Judi Lynn]

By Joe Rao published about 11 hours ago
With the right conditions and gear, skywatchers could see five moons at once.



An illustration of the night sky on June 14 showing the moon and Jupiter in close proximity. (Image credit: Chris Vaughan/Starry Night)

Some celestial events are worth getting up early for - or perhaps staying up late for.

Early risers and/or night owls on Flag Day (Wednesday) morning, given fair weather and clear skies, will be treated to a lovely "celestial tableau" low in their eastern sky as the brilliant planet Jupiter hovers close to the right of a slender waning crescent moon; they will be by far, the two brightest objects visible in the predawn sky and will command instant attention wherever the sky is reasonably clear.

Jupiter currently rises about two and a half hours before the sun — around 3 a.m. local daylight time — when at magnitude -2.1, it outshines everything but the moon (negative magnitudes indicate a bright object in the sky). The gas giant is currently in the constellation Aries, where it will remain through the balance of the year. In the days and weeks to come, Jupiter will rise progressively earlier as well as appearing to noticeably brighten as Earth speeds along in orbit, closing the distance between our two worlds. As bright as Jupiter may be now, by the time it arrives at opposition to the sun in early November it will appear to shine more than twice as bright.

An ashen glow

Wednesday morning finds the moon, 14% illuminated and positioned two degrees from Jupiter. Your thumb held at arm's length measures roughly 2-degrees, so on Wednesday morning you can find Jupiter, shining like a brilliant silvery "star" with a steady glow, will stand about "one thumb" to the right of the moon.

More:
https://www.space.com/jupiter-moon-june-2023?utm_source=notification

[elleng]

1. Neat! However, moon doesn't rise until 2:42 a.m.,

here at least.