As the nights draw in and the Sun begins to set earlier each day, the autumn months can offer excellent stargazing opportunities, without the chill of winter.
Jupiter will go into opposition on 26 September this year, but what exactly does it mean when we say a planet is in opposition? How can you spot Jupiter in opposition? And, which constellation will Jupiter appear in? Answers to these, and more, are below.
Opposition is essentially the planetary equivalent of a full Moon. When a planet is close to the Earth, and on the opposite side of Earth to the Sun, we describe it as that planet being in opposition. The sunlight that shines on the planet is fully reflected, in the same way that sunlight is fully reflected from the Moon every 29.53 days in the lunar cycle.
As the outer planets orbit around the Sun, Earth occasionally finds itself between the Sun and another planet, with all three directly aligned. Oppositions can often provide the best opportunity to observe and photograph a particular planet because of its favourable position and brightness.
At Jupiter’s opposition, Earth will lie directly between Jupiter and the Sun, and will remain in the sky above the horizon for most of the night.
Only those planets that are beyond Earth’s orbit can be in opposition, these are Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Because Mercury and Venus orbit the Sun inside the path of Earth’s orbit, they can never be in opposition.
When is Jupiter in opposition?
Jupiter will reach opposition on Monday 26 September 2022, when it will be at its closest and brightest for the year, essentially creating a ‘full’ Jupiter. The king of the Solar System will rise as sunset falls, at 6:52pm on Monday 26 September and will remain above the horizon until it sets at 6:57am on Tuesday 27 September 2022, as viewed from London (times will vary with location).
Weather permitting, we are expected to be offered perfect visibility of Jupiter. When Jupiter reaches opposition, the gas giant will be situated approximately 591.3 million kilometres (3.95 AU) from Earth.
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What will you be able to see?
For naked-eye observers, Jupiter will appear as a very bright point of light that, unlike stars, does not twinkle. A decent set of binoculars (7× to 10x magnification) will provide you with a view of Jupiter’s four largest moons, Ganymede, Europa, Callisto and Io, and a telescope will allow you to view Jupiter’s stripes.
Jupiter’s bands, the Great Red Spot and even clouds can be seen through a telescope. Jupiter has a fast spin, and eagle eyes may even be able to spot the resulting slightly squashed appearance of its bright disc.
From around 6:52pm on Monday 26 September, Jupiter will rise in the eastern sky, in the constellation Pisces. As night progresses, the planet will travel east and reach its highest in the middle of the night before setting at sunrise, disappearing below the horizon at 6:57am the next day.
If you’re interested in astrophotography or creating an animation of Jupiter, expert Pete Lawrence has put together this handy guide on how to make a planetary animation.
How can I spot Jupiter in the night sky?
Jupiter is one of the brightest objects in the night sky, which makes it relatively easy to spot, even without a telescope. If you’re struggling with orientation, then there are astronomy apps that you can download – all you need to do is point your phone at the sky and the app will tell you what’s what.
For those of you who prefer star hopping, look towards the southeast after sunset. Jupiter will rise in the constellation Pisces, which can be seen anywhere in the world, with the exception of Antarctica. Although Pisces is a large constellation, its stars are relatively dim. However, its distinctive V-shape is one of the largest star formations in the sky.
You can find Pisces by first locating the Summer Triangle, and tracing an imaginary line from the bright star Vega and splitting the triangle perpendicular to the base, which is made up of Altair and Deneb. This line points to the head of the western fish in Pisces. Jupiter will be sitting just below the western fish.
Each of the planets go into opposition on a roughly annual basis. This is because Earth has a faster orbit, passing between these planets and the Sun. The exception is Mars, which is around every 26 months due to it being relatively close to Earth in the Solar System. Jupiter goes into opposition every 13 months.
Jupiter’s 12-year cycle
Jupiter lies within the zodiac band of the sky, and it moves through approximately 1/12 of its orbit every year (a single orbit being around 12 years).
In other words, it takes around 12 months for Jupiter to cross one of the zodiac constellations and move on to the next. This means that Jupiter goes into opposition every 13 months, and the planet will pass through all of the zodiac constellations over a period of 12 years.
Like the other planets, Jupiter travels from west to east across the night sky, against a backdrop of stars and distant galaxies. However, when it’s in opposition, the planet also enters into a period of apparent retrograde motion, when it appears to move backwards for a time.
Here are the constellations that Jupiter will appear in over the next 12-year cycle:
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
