Jupiter Evening Apparition 2011-2012

[Notrump]

That brilliant beacon in the late evening eastern sky, giant Jupiter, has been growing brighter and rising about four minutes earlier each night. It will reach opposition to the Sun by celestial longitude in American time zones on 2011 OCT 28. At that time it’ll be rising around sunset, transiting the local meridian near local midnight, and setting about sunrise. It currently exhibits apparent retrograde motion on star charts.

All dates given here are for the US central time zone. Jupiter reached the perihelion (closest to Sun) of its nearly 12-year orbital cycle this past March and will be only 3.9698 AU from Earth on OCT 28 at an angular diameter of 49.6 arcseconds and magnitude -2.9. That’s just slightly further and virtually the same brilliance as last year’s opposition, which is about as bright as it ever gets. That’s significantly brighter than the brightest fixed star Sirius, but noticeably less bright than Venus.

Jupiter’s opposition declination has been improving for northern hemisphere observers since the low of 2008. This year it is roughly halfway between the celestial equator and its maximum possible northern declination. So its transit altitudes for observers north of the tropics will be better than in recent years, but not quite as good as the next few years.

As viewed from Earth the tilt of Jupiter’s equatorial plane at opposition will appear to be +3.3° which is near the maximum. The orbital planes of the four Galilean satellites lay close to that plane and mutual events (transits, occultations, eclipses) not involving Jupiter will not occur during the current apparition. In fact for now Callisto will always appear to pass north or south of Jupiter during conjunctions. Of course the events involving Jupiter and the inner three Galilean satellites and their shadows will still happen during every one of their orbital periods.

Jupiter will resume apparent direct motion on DEC 25 and reach eastern quadrature (90° from Sun) on 2012 JAN 22 at which time it will be setting around local midnight. Conjunction behind the Sun will be achieved on MAY 13.

Venus will appear to pass 3.0° north of Jupiter on MAR 13. Except for that event, during this apparition Jupiter will not be in conjunction with any other planets or first magnitude stars.

The Moon will appear to pass a few degrees north of Jupiter on 2011 AUG 20, SEP 16, OCT 13, NOV 09, DEC 06, 2012 JAN 02, JAN 30, FEB 27, MAR 25 & APR 22.

I’ve created several graphics related to Jupiter and its current apparition. That includes long-term graphs for brightness and declination. I also preview shadow transits when appropriate. The graphics can be seen by going to www.curtrenz.com/jupiter

Photos and descriptions of Jupiter and its satellites during the current apparition would be welcome additions to this thread.

[Silly Green Monkey]

I seen it! It's bright and neat.

[Soapy Sam]

I glimpsed something very bright close to the moon about August 10th (+/- 7 days).
A short glimpse only. This was from western Kazakhstan, around 5am. I thought it was Venus- but it was a brief (seconds) glimpse through a gap in heavy cloud. Southern sky.

Was that Jupiter? I can usually tell the difference, but maybe I was fooled.

[UnrepentantSinner]

After the Mars and Venus juxtaposition, I wondered what the other planet hanging around was. Finally looked it up and saw that it was Jupiter. Been enjoying the show on nights when I work, especially as there's not much else interesting in the sky right now (where I'm at, anything under +2.5 is nearly invisible because of the ambient light).

[Charlie Monoxide]

The problem of living in a city is the large amount of light pollution and unless I head out of town I miss the spledor and awe of the night sky.

At least Jupiter is bright enough and having a SW view from my balconey, I've been getting my nightly dose of "awe", weather permitting.

Charlie (great OP for details) Monoxide

[Notrump]

I glimpsed something very bright close to the moon about August 10th (+/- 7 days).
A short glimpse only. This was from western Kazakhstan, around 5am. I thought it was Venus- but it was a brief (seconds) glimpse through a gap in heavy cloud. Southern sky.

Was that Jupiter? I can usually tell the difference, but maybe I was fooled.


Sam, the Moon passed 4° north of Jupiter on August 20. It passed 3° north of the first magnitude star Antares on August 8, but both would have set before 5 am. If the glimpse was brief, it could have been an Iridium flare, i.e. a solar reflection from a communications satellite.

This month Venus is hidden from view on the far side of the Sun. It will slowly ascend into the early evening western sky this autumn before becoming spectacular in the spring: www.CurtRenz.com/venus . In June, Venus will transit the Sun. Only a crescent Moon can appear near Venus.

BTW, Jupiter will actually commence apparent retrograde movement on August 30, but it's too late to edit my original post.

[Soapy Sam]

I should have noted the date. Pretty sure of the time as I was just going onshift.
Back in Scotland now and I think we saw old Jove last night - again a brief gap in cloud. Nothing to see tonight at all as it's pouring.

[rwguinn]

I should have noted the date. Pretty sure of the time as I was just going onshift.
Back in Scotland now and I think we saw old Jove last night - again a brief gap in cloud. Nothing to see tonight at all as it's pouring.
One thing we got in N Texas this year is cloudless skies.
But with only a 10-15 degree change between day and nighttime temperatures, the atmospheric distortion is really a PITA!\

[MG1962]

Jupiter has been getting pretty interesting lately. A couple of new storms seem to be spinning up. A newish (few years) storm have begun to get very red - already has the nickname of junior

Notrump - got my first look last night with my SE8 - very sharp views. Cant wait till it gets out of the thermals created by my neighbours roof

[MG1962]

The problem of living in a city is the large amount of light pollution and unless I head out of town I miss the spledor and awe of the night sky.

At least Jupiter is bright enough and having a SW view from my balconey, I've been getting my nightly dose of "awe", weather permitting.

Charlie (great OP for details) Monoxide

Actually Charlie, Jupiter is one of the objects that does better under city skies. One of the hardest parts of observing Jupiter is managing the brightness, which blinds you to many more subtle markings on the planet

[Damien Evans]

After the Mars and Venus juxtaposition, I wondered what the other planet hanging around was. Finally looked it up and saw that it was Jupiter. Been enjoying the show on nights when I work, especially as there's not much else interesting in the sky right now (where I'm at, anything under +2.5 is nearly invisible because of the ambient light).

Saturn is still around in the early evening too.

[LarianLeQuella]

I'll have my telescope handy! Can't wait to set up a Jupiter Viewing Party. :)

[MG1962]

Saturn is still around in the early evening too.

Being in the southern hemisphere would be a definate advantage to getting some last looks at Saturn for a while

[UnrepentantSinner]

Saturn is still around in the early evening too.

Being in the southern hemisphere would be a definate advantage to getting some last looks at Saturn for a while

Even if it were more visible in the Northern Hemisphere, I'm usually not in star gazing mode until near 11pm.

[MG1962]

Even if it were more visible in the Northern Hemisphere, I'm usually not in star gazing mode until near 11pm.

Yeah that part of the night only Neptune and Uranus are about, however Jupiter is starting to get into the picture

[UnrepentantSinner]

Yeah that part of the night only Neptune and Uranus are about, however Jupiter is starting to get into the picture

At 11pm in Dallas, Jupiter is well above the horizon and currently the only bright object in the eastern skies of the heavily light polluted areas like where I am. Most constellations near the ecliptic are washed out. Only Orion makes his presence known about 4am at which point Delpinus and Taurus become visible if you know were to look.

I sometimes have to drive the side streets and highways of North Texas in the middle of the night, and while I appreciate having the street lighting for those times, I really wish they'd cut back a bit - or that I could make it "out of town" more often and see a night sky full of stars.

[UnrepentantSinner]

Yeah that part of the night only Neptune and Uranus are about, however Jupiter is starting to get into the picture

At 11pm in Dallas, Jupiter is well just above the horizon and currently the only bright object in the eastern skies of the heavily light polluted areas like where I am.

Corrected, MG's description was much more accurate for the time in question. I blame my scewed perspective on the fact that I watch it the whole night and my sunrise memory must have been effecting what I'd actually seen 8 hours earlier. :)

[Damien Evans]

Where I am on the edge of Melbourne (some light pollution but not a huge amount) Scorpio is passing over the zenith at around 8 pm here at the moment, so I'm spending a bit of time looking through there.

[UnrepentantSinner]

Where I am on the edge of Melbourne (some light pollution but not a huge amount) Scorpio is passing over the zenith at around 8 pm here at the moment, so I'm spending a bit of time looking through there.

That would be cool. Scorpio runs (skitters?) low along the horizon at my latitude. One thing that disppointed me about TAA2 was the overcast prevented being able to see the stars from a different Earthly vantage point. Phil Plait was planning a viewing party, but there were never any good nights.

[MG1962]

Where I am on the edge of Melbourne (some light pollution but not a huge amount) Scorpio is passing over the zenith at around 8 pm here at the moment, so I'm spending a bit of time looking through there.

That extra elevation in the sky makes a huge difference to observing. Sometimes if there is a bit of haze I cant even see M80 :(

[Damien Evans]

That extra elevation in the sky makes a huge difference to observing. Sometimes if there is a bit of haze I cant even see M80 :(

It also helps that I'm 25 km from the CBD., and only half an hour from almost completely dark skies up near Kinglake.

Can't compare to where I go on Christmas holidays though. In the middle of a Coastal Park, the nearest town is 15 km away and the nearest town over 10,000 people is nearly a 90 minute drive away. Unless you're in the middle of a desert, way out in international waters or on Antarctica, the sky doesn't get any cleaner than that.

[UnrepentantSinner]

That extra elevation in the sky makes a huge difference to observing. Sometimes if there is a bit of haze I cant even see M80 :(

Blurgh. If I've seen a Messier object since my tweens I have no recollection. I remember being able to see the mass of the Milky Way when I lived in Oklahoma in the late 70s, but for the last 18 years, I haven't been in the right place, with the right atmospheric conditions, at the right time of night to make such observations.

[MG1962]

It also helps that I'm 25 km from the CBD., and only half an hour from almost completely dark skies up near Kinglake.

Can't compare to where I go on Christmas holidays though. In the middle of a Coastal Park, the nearest town is 15 km away and the nearest town over 10,000 people is nearly a 90 minute drive away. Unless you're in the middle of a desert, way out in international waters or on Antarctica, the sky doesn't get any cleaner than that.

I have had similar experiences in Western NSW, just a bit beyond Tamworth. Best sky I ever saw in my life.

If you can ever do it - set up close to a beach, and observe out over the water. It might not be the deepest sky, but the steadyness over the water is amazing

[Notrump]

One midnight in April of 1958 when I was 12, I spotted a brilliant UFO halfway up in the southern sky. I grabbed my new telescope and my heart started pounding as I focused on a mother ship and four scout ships. After about fifteen seconds I calmed down upon realizing that I had discovered Jupiter and its four bright natural satellites. :boggled: