If the skies are reasonably clear Wednesday evening (April 22), you can end your day by stepping outside and enjoying the view of the rendezvous of two of the brightest objects in the night sky. month and the planet Jupiter. About 45 minutes after the sun sets, these two striking objects will be visible in the western sky, about two-thirds of the way from the horizon to directly overhead (called the zenith).
Moon one day away from reaching first quarter stage — 38% illuminated solar — located to the upper right of Jupiter, about 3 degrees away.
Even without the moon, only Jupiter immediately attracts attention. Now, after Venus has set, it is the brightest “star” while it is above the horizon (it currently sets around 1:35 a.m. local daylight savings time) and is first visible high in the western sky during the early stages of twilight. Jupiter, approx. size -2.1, surpassing all of the night sky. Venus And the moon. As dusk fades, bright winter stars soon join this part of the sky. These stars begin to appear out of season as spring nights get warmer.
Team up with the Gemini Twins
Due to its proximity to the Moon and Jupiter, the most noticeable feature is the yellowish part. Pollux and white casterwhich marks the head of the Twins in Gemini, located about 9 degrees above Jupiter and about 6.5 degrees above the Moon. In his classic zodiac guide, Stars — a new way to see starsauthor HA Rey writes, “If the moon and planets are near Castor and Pollux, an impressive show is seen.”
And indeed, this collection of the Moon, Jupiter, Castor, and Pollux in the Wednesday evening sky will be quite eye-catching.
Impressive views seen through a telescope
Jupiter is the biggest attraction with a telescope. Best observed in the early evening when the altitude is still high and the images are reasonably calm. It’s still a great big belted ball that shows glimpses of fascinating detail. Granted, it only looks 3/4 the size of the opposition in early January, but don’t let that stop you. The way we view the atmosphere, which changes from minute to minute, often determines what we see on Jupiter through a telescope more than Jupiter’s apparent size. And those four bright moons are constantly performing.
In fact, if you look at Jupiter through a small telescope or well-held binoculars on Wednesday evening, you’ll see three of its four moons. Io is the closest planet to Jupiter, but it’s more distant and flanks larger planets. callisto (same side as Io) and Ganymede. Please watch with keen eyes IoHowever, it will disappear behind Jupiter at 10:39 PM ET. At 11:36 pm EDT, Europa will emerge from the eclipse from behind Jupiter.
So on Wednesday, while you enjoy views of Jupiter near our moons, remember that up to four more moons are available with just a little optical assistance. Although they look like small stars, two of them are larger than our moon and can actually be seen changing their positions with respect to each other hourly and nightly.
If you’re looking for a telescope or binoculars to observe the night sky, check out our guide. best binoculars sale and best telescope deals I can help.
Joe Rao is an instructor and guest lecturer at New York University. Hayden Planetarium. he writes about astronomy natural history magazine, sky and telescope, old farmer’s almanac and other publications.
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