At Latest York’s Hayden Planetarium where I’ve spent the last 37 years serving within the role as an Associate and Guest Lecturer, recently we have been getting an increasing variety of phone calls making principally the identical inquiry. A typical call goes something like this: “I used to be out shortly after midnight last night and couldn’t help but notice a superb silvery star glowing low within the east-northeast. It was far brighter than any star and I used to be just curious to know what I used to be taking a look at.”
The thing in query is the biggest planet in our solar system: Jupiter. It is a welcome sight, rising within the late evening and coming up above the east-northeast horizon this week by 11:45 p.m. local daylight time.
And late tonight (Aug. 7) right on into the early morning hours of Tuesday (Aug. 8) Jupiter can have company, for hovering a little bit over 2 degrees above and a bit to its left shall be the last quarter or “half” moon. Your clenched fist held at arm’s length measures roughly 10 degrees; so, the moon will appear lower than 1 / 4 of a fist above Jupiter throughout the overnight hours of Monday/Tuesday).
Related: Night sky, Aug. 2023: What you’ll be able to see tonight [maps]
The king of the planets is currently positioned amongst the celebs of Aries, the ram. Now that dazzling Venus is hidden between Earth and the sun, Jupiter is indeed the brightest “star” within the night sky, currently shining at -2.4 magnitude or greater than 2 and a half times brighter than the brightest star, Sirius.
Put simply, you’ll be able to’t miss it.
And Jupiter will only proceed to realize in brilliance in the approaching weeks.
Jupiter will proceed to rise earlier as Earth’s motion across the sun carries us toward opposition with the enormous planet in early November. At that time we are going to fly between Jupiter and the sun, and so they shall be on opposite sides of the sky. So, until then Jupiter will appear to brighten further, because the space between us is steadily decreasing. Currently, the planet is 40.2 light-minutes from Earth, but that is destined to shrink to only 33.1 light minutes by mid-autumn.
Be mindful that while you take a look at the moon relative to Jupiter, that our natural satellite is barely about 1.26 light from us — or greater than 1,900 times closer than the more distant Jupiter.
Note too, that Jupiter is getting brighter and likewise looking great in telescopes now, though to see it at nearly its highest and steadiest this week, the perfect time to look is during morning twilight, about 60 to 90 minutes before sunrise.
If you may have a small telescope or pair of binoculars that you would be able to hold regular or mount on a tripod, you can too take a look at Jupiter’s 4 big moons, first sighted in 1610 by Galileo. Jupiter will look like flanked by two moons on either side. On its eastern (left) side, you will see (going outward from Jupiter), Io and Ganymede, while on the western (right) side, shall be Europa and Callisto.
And I’m sure that ought to the sky be clear late Monday night that come next Tuesday I’m certain to take a number of inquiries from people wanting to know what that “UFO” was below the moon on Monday night and that appeared to follow it across the sky into the early hours of Tuesday morning.
At the least you now know what that “UFO” is!
And remember: In the event you’re on the lookout for a telescope or binoculars to look at the moon, our guides for the best binoculars deals and the best telescope deals now may also help. Our best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for astrophotography can even assist you to prepare to capture the following skywatching sight on your personal.