(N.Morgan) You will be able to see the moon and Jupiter playing in the sky tonight shortly after sunset. This extraordinary event will make the moon and Jupiter the brightest objects in the night skies, right now. Make sure to catch this event and please, get pictures!
Jupiter – the king of planets in our sun’s system – has over 60 known moons of its own. Only four of these moons are large enough to be seen through a small telescope. In their order outward from Jupiter, these four moons are Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. You might even glimpse them through binoculars. Click here to know the positions of Jupiter’s moons tonight – or any night.
Two of Jupiter’s moons, Io and Europa, are about the size of our moon. The other two, Ganymede and Callisto, have diameters that are approximately 1.5 times the moon’s diameter. Ganymede, the largest moon in the solar system, is actually larger than the planet Mercury.
Jupiter and its moon, Europa, thanks to NASA’s Galileo spacecraft. Europa is believed to have a liquid ocean beneath its icy crust. Image credit: tonytetone
Let me know when the Moon starts playing with Uranus! ZING!