Jupiter Closest Tonight

The planet Jupiter will be at the closest point in its orbit to Earth tonight… a mere 410 million miles away This makes Jupiter appear bigger and brighter than usual. Look for the giant planet to rise in the east around sunset. It is so much brighter than any other star-like object that you just can miss it. At this point, it is roughly 10 times brighter than the brightest stars around it. Jupiter is simply spectacular in a typical backyard telescope… so if you have one… be sure to break it out and point it towards Jupiter. Jupiter will put on a great show throughout the spring and into the summer… so check it out each opportunity you get. Checkout Science@NASA for more details.