No telescope? No problem. Jupiter will be at its “biggest and brightest” during the month of June, according to , meaning this “brilliant jewel” will rise at dusk and be visible all night.
Of particular interest is a yearly astronomical event called opposition, which occurs when Jupiter, Earth and the sun are arranged in a straight line. This year, opposition happens on June 10 at sunset.
director John Keller said Jupiter will be directly across from the sun during opposition, meaning the planet will rise from the east as the sun is setting. He added this will be the “most interesting” part of opposition.
“Anybody can see (Jupiter) with the naked eye,” he said.
He added people should watch for a “big, bright” star, though Jupiter won’t twinkle like stars do.
According to astronomy magazine , that is because stars are so distant that their light is easily diffracted (spread out, essentially), but planets are much closer to Earth and therefore appear as disks.
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He also said Jupiter will be “ever so slightly bigger,” during opposition, and will be the biggest image appearing in a telescope. Additionally, if people use a telescope or binoculars, they can see “very small dots in a line” that are Jupiter’s moons.
Keller also said Jupiter will only get dimmer over the next few months.
Jupiter isn’t the only planet that will be visible during June. Immediately after sunset on June 17 and 18, Mars and Mercury will appear “ultra-close” together, according to NASA.
Keller said Mercury will be hard to see because it’s closest to the sun, and because it’s already a small and faint planet. However, he said if people can find Mars, it will be easier to find Mercury.
