The year 2020 is filled with interesting space events including the upcoming Jupiter event. After the lunar eclipse this month along with the annular solar eclipse this is another upcoming marvel space event.
On July 14, 2020, Jupiter will appear right opposite the Sun as seen from the Earth. This is called opposition. It will be the closest to Earth, hence, the brightest. According to NASA, it will effectively be a ‘full Jupiter,’ rising around sunset and setting around sunrise. This is very similar to the full moon effect that we see at night.
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Comet #NEOWISE has stolen the spotlight recently and will start to appear in the evening sky by midweek, but stargazers may also want to step outside on Monday night into Tuesday morning to look for Jupiter: https://t.co/mybKEVJCQZ pic.twitter.com/kdNOENIvEF
— AccuWeather (@breakingweather) July 11, 2020
NASA says you can see the Jupiter in its largest form this Tuesday
This event will actually occur because the Earth’s motion will place it between Jupiter and Sun about once each year. The largest planet in our solar system is now rising in the east as the sun is setting below the western horizon. This event is called opposition to the largest planet.
Observation conditions should be ideal days before and after the opposition, according to the museum, adding that anyone can easily find Jupiter throughout the night, as it rises at dusk from the southeast and descends at dawn to the southwest.
Jupiter will be reaching the opposition on July 14, at 8:00 am UTC and 1:30 pm IST. In the United States, that’s 4 am. However, the planet is visible at the horizon in India in the early hours of the morning. To see the planet when it’s at its closest to Earth, get up before sunrise and look west where there is a clear view of the horizon. You’ll find yourself gazing at the biggest planet of our solar system.
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Suryapratim Ray is an engineer, author, robotics hobbyist, and an active Quoran. Being a technical blogger, he covers the good, bad, and ugly of science on a regular basis at Sciencenews18. In addition to his passion for writing, he’s equally keen on learning classical music.