On 3rd December, 2012 at 7:15 a.m. Planet Jupiter (Bruhaspati/Guru
in Hindi/Telugu) would be at opposition to Sun and hence Closest to
earth shining at bright -2.8 Magnitude.
Due to this phenomenon of
opposition Sun- Earth- Jupiter would be opposite to each other from our
perspective on earth. And in a line if one can see them from above with Sun
&Jupiter on either side of earth. Because of this an observer would note as
the Sun sets in west, Jupiter rises (east) in the evening. Whereas as Sun rises
in the Morning, Jupiter sets in west.
What is Opposition ? A planet (during course of its
journey around sun) is said to be at opposition when it is directly opposite
the Sun from our viewpoint on Earth. The result is that the planet is fully
illuminated by the sun and appears disk-like. Importantly during opposition the
planet in question would be at its closest
approach and thus would appear more big and brighter than usual. At this point Sun-Earth- Planet would be in a straight
line opposite to each other. Though planet is at opposition for only one day,
nevertheless for visual purposes it is almost as good for viewing for a couple
of weeks to a Month before and after opposition. Jupiter oppositions occur every 13 months. The last opposition of Jupiter occurred on 29th
October, 2011 and the next
will be 6th January 2014.
3rd December, 2012 - Closest: Generally the
minimum
distance of Jupiter from earth is 588
Million kilometers approx. Whereas the Maximum distance is 967 Million km approx. On the 3rd
December Jupiter will reach closest point i.e. would at 608 million km which is very close to its minimum distance from
earth.
Brightest - Similar
Brightness – For a Month : because of its
closeness to earth as of now Planet
Jupiter would appear big through telescope and very bright shining at -2.8 Magnitude up to 6th Jan
2013.
Decreasing Brightness & Disappearance from
Evening sky in May 2013 : As earth races away
from Jupiter in its orbit brightness
would reduce gradually shining at
-2.7 (3rd Jan to 19th
Jan ), -2.6 (20th Jan to 2nd
Feb), - 2.5 (3rd Feb – 16th Feb), - 2.4 (17 Feb – 2nd March), - 2.3 (3rd
March – 17th March), - 2.2 (18th March – 2nd April), - 2.1 (3rd
April – 22nd April), 2.0 (23rd
April – 22nd April) and finally – 1.9 till end of July 2013.
Observe with Naked Eye: Telescopes are
required only if one wants to appreciate finer details of this planet. To Spot
planets (in any part of year with naked eye) one has to remember/differentiate
that as seen from earth
though planets shine, they don’t twinkle/blink unlike stars. This is because planets merely reflect the
sunlight whereas Stars radiate the light they produce.
DIRECTIONS
TO SPOT – JUPITER – WITH SIMILAR BRIGHTNESS - UNTIL – till 6th Jan 2013 – TIMINGS : Evening: After an Hour after Sunset if one can look towards
East direction quite opposite to direction of sunset one would see Jupiter
rising. It will be visible all through the night, at Midnight one
can spot it high above southern direction. Morning Walkers: if one wants look at Jupiter (also known as
big brother of our solar system) during morning they can do so one hour before
Sunrise towards West Direction quite opposite to where Sun would rise.
Invitation for
Observation Schools - Astronomical Telescopes: Society is
happy to announce JUPITER OBSERVATION
CAMPAIGN INDIA 2012-13 (3rd December 2012 to 6th June
2013). Society is conducting series of observations (at new residential
facility at Nagole) for Students, Schools, General Public and Students (drop
outs) of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya in the state and across the country
in association with various NGO’s.
Society invites interested, individuals, schools and
other organizations across the state to write with request for observations
with Astronomical Telescopes to ssa.media@gmail.com
or at Planetary Society India
P.O.Box.No.1361, Hyderabad -28.
