Turn a telescope to the japanese sky within the hours following midnight on Nov. 5 to see two colossal shadows darken the cloud tops of the fuel big Jupiter because the Galilean moons Io and Europa cross between the colossal world and the solar.
Jupiter will probably be seen as a vibrant level of sunshine roughly 30 levels excessive within the japanese sky at 12:13 a.m. EST (0513 GMT) on Nov. 5. During this time, the shadows of each moons will probably be seen darkening the Jovian disk because it shines beneath the intense “twin” stars Castor and Pollux within the constellation Gemini. Remember, the width of your clenched fist held at arm’s size is roughly equal to 10 levels within the evening sky.
Io‘s shadow will be visible darkening Jupiter’s right hand side slightly below the equator as the double shadow transit gets underway shortly after midnight on Nov. 5, though eager stargazers will also be able to track it as it moves left to right across the gas giant’s disk in the preceding two hours. The moon itself will also be visible to the shadow’s left, sharing the same cloud band.
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Meanwhile, Europa‘s shadow will probably be seen encroaching on the intense left of Jupiter’s disk on the outset of the double transit, barely farther from the Jovian equator. It will stay seen for somewhat below three hours — lengthy after Io’s umbral define has slipped from view.
Jupiter performs host to a swarm of over 90 numerous moons, although solely the biggest 4 Ganymede, Callisto, Io and Europa — also called the Galilean moons after famed Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei — are simply seen via an newbie telescope.
Stargazers hoping to catch a better glimpse at Jupiter and its moons ought to try our roundups of the greatest telescopes for viewing the evening sky, whereas these new to the pastime might wish to peruse our roundup of the greatest smartphone astronomy apps for navigating the publish sundown realm.
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