Jupiter will be at its most spectacular in 2026 in the early hours of Jan. 10, as it shines above the eastern horizon among the stars of the constellation Gemini. Here’s where to look and what to expect as the gas giant draws closest to Earth around opposition.
The visibility of planets in the night sky varies dramatically based on their orbital positions relative to the sun and Earth. The best time to view superior planets — worlds that orbit the sun at a greater distance than our Blue Marble — is at their points of opposition, when they line up in our night sky directly opposite the sun, with Earth in the middle.
Jupiter will be visible to the east at sunset tonight (Jan. 9) with the bright stars Castor and Pollux shining to its left, according to In-the-sky. Throughout the evening hours on Jan. 9, Jupiter will be the brightest point of light in the night sky, until the waning crescent moon rises to usurp it in the hour following midnight for viewers in the U.S. The planet will officially reach opposition at 3:34 a.m. EST (0834 GMT) on Jan 10, when it will shine magnitude -2.7.
The moment of opposition coincides with when a planet draws near to its closest point to Earth in its orbit. As a result, Jupiter will appear brighter and subtly larger in the eyepiece of a telescope on Jan. 10, boasting an angular size of 45.6 arcseconds at opposition, as opposed to the 31.3 arcseconds it would occupy when furthest from Earth (when it would be hidden behind the sun). For context, the full moon takes up between 29.4 and 33.5 arcminutes, with each arcminute being the equivalent of 60 arcseconds.
Look to the eastern horizon at sunset on Jan. 10 to find Jupiter shining in the constellation Gemini, with Orion the “hunter” to its right and the bright star Capella above. The gas giant will arc high overhead before finally ending the night low on the western horizon as the sun rises on Jan. 11.
Jupiter was named after the king of the Roman pantheon of gods and it’s pretty easy to understand why. The gas giant makes for a dazzling astronomical target when viewed with the naked eye, which only gets more impressive when viewed through a telescope with an aperture of 4-inches (152 mm) or more, which helps reveal its colorful atmospheric cloud bands.
The four large Galilean moons Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto will also be visible arrayed in a line formation extending either side of the gas giant on the night of Jan. 10.
If you’re using a telescope with a larger aperture, you may want to try viewing the planet with a special astronomy filter screwed into the eyepiece, which will help reduce glare while enhancing the contrast between colors in the Jovian atmosphere’s stormy cloud tops.
Want to catch a glimpse of Jupiter up close? Then be sure to check out our picks of the best telescopes for exploring the planets of the solar system. If you’re interested in photographing the night sky then you may also want to read up on our roundup of the best cameras and lenses for astrophotography.
Editor’s Note: If you would like to share your astrophotography with Space.com’s readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.
Author: Anthony Wood
Source: Space.com
Reviewed By: Editorial Team
