Before dawn on Friday morning – December 4, 2015 – you’ll have another chance to see the waning crescent moon with the giant planet Jupiter in the predawn sky. Simply look for the brilliant starlike object close to the moon.
Although the moon and Jupiter nearly reside on the same line of sight as seen from Earth on this date, they are not close together in space. Our moon lies approximately 250,000 miles (400,000 km) away from Earth, while the king planet Jupiter is more than 2,000 times farther away.
Astronomers oftentimes give the distances of the planets in astronomical units (AU). At present, Jupiter is about 5.48 AU from Earth and 5.41 AU from the sun. One astronomical is approximately 93,000,000 miles (150,000,000 km). Click here to know the present distances of the planets from Earth and the sun in astronomical units.
If you want to know the moon’s size relative to that of Jupiter, look at Jupiter through a small telescope sometime. Jupiter’s four major moons, called the Galilean moons, are Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. Io and Europa are roughly the same size as Earth’s moon, while the diameters of Ganymede and Calliso are about one-and-one-half times that of our moon.
Click here for the present positions of Jupiter’s four major moons, as seen through the telescope.
EarthSky astronomy kits are perfect for beginners. Order today from the EarthSky store
Bottom line: Use the moon to find Jupiter, the solar system’s brightest planet, before sunrise December 4, 2015.
Almost gone! EarthSky lunar calendars make great gifts. Order now.
Donate: Your support means the world to us
from EarthSky http://ift.tt/1IzekUn
Before dawn on Friday morning – December 4, 2015 – you’ll have another chance to see the waning crescent moon with the giant planet Jupiter in the predawn sky. Simply look for the brilliant starlike object close to the moon.
Although the moon and Jupiter nearly reside on the same line of sight as seen from Earth on this date, they are not close together in space. Our moon lies approximately 250,000 miles (400,000 km) away from Earth, while the king planet Jupiter is more than 2,000 times farther away.
Astronomers oftentimes give the distances of the planets in astronomical units (AU). At present, Jupiter is about 5.48 AU from Earth and 5.41 AU from the sun. One astronomical is approximately 93,000,000 miles (150,000,000 km). Click here to know the present distances of the planets from Earth and the sun in astronomical units.
If you want to know the moon’s size relative to that of Jupiter, look at Jupiter through a small telescope sometime. Jupiter’s four major moons, called the Galilean moons, are Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. Io and Europa are roughly the same size as Earth’s moon, while the diameters of Ganymede and Calliso are about one-and-one-half times that of our moon.
Click here for the present positions of Jupiter’s four major moons, as seen through the telescope.
EarthSky astronomy kits are perfect for beginners. Order today from the EarthSky store
Bottom line: Use the moon to find Jupiter, the solar system’s brightest planet, before sunrise December 4, 2015.
Almost gone! EarthSky lunar calendars make great gifts. Order now.
Donate: Your support means the world to us
from EarthSky http://ift.tt/1IzekUn
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