Jupiter to be closest to Earth today in 59 years

Hyderabad: Planetary Society of India Director Raghunandan Kumar said that on September 27 at 1.03 am, one of the most exciting celestial events will occur as Jupiter will be closest to Earth and will be brighter and bigger than compared to the rest of the year. Jupiter's opposition, which happens once in 13 months, coincides with 'Perihelion of Jupiter to Sun' in a few months and so Jupiter on 27 September would be closest in 59 years as per NASA's Data.

The last opposition of Jupiter occurred on 21 Aug 2021 and next such opposition would be on 3rd November 2023. Though the planet is in opposition for only one day, nevertheless for visual purposes it is almost as good for viewing for a couple of weeks to a month before and after the opposition.

On September 27, 2022 if one can view our solar system from above, they would see the Sun and Jupiter on either side of Earth wherein all these three celestial bodies appear in a Line. This kind of alignment is not possible in other parts of the year as the location of Jupiter and Earth in their respective orbits and distance varies. Further, due to the opposition, people can easily locate Jupiter looking in the opposite direction of sunset in the evening and look in the opposite direction of sunrise to locate Jupiter in the morning.