Jupiter is about to be larger, brighter in night sky than it’s been in 50+ years

CINCINNATI (WXIX) - Jupiter will be larger and brighter in the sky Monday night than it’s been in decades.

The largest planet in our solar system, Jupiter will be closer to earth than it’s been since 1963!

It will be just 367 million miles away. By contrast, at its farthest point in orbit, Jupiter is almost twice that distance.

Jupiter will rise in the east Monday night as the sun sets in the west.

Greater Cincinnati’s best viewing window will be around 1:30 a.m.

Experts say the best place to get a view of Jupiter on Monday will be a highly elevated spot in a dark and dry area, according to CNN.

Amateur stargazers will be able to see the planet and even its four giant moons - Ganymede, Castillo, Io and Europa - with their naked eyes.

Per Cosmos Magazine, you’ll need a pair of 7x magnification binoculars to see its disk.

“Outside of the Moon, it should be one of the (if not the) brightest objects in the night sky,” Adam Kobelski from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center told Cosmos.

MORE | James Webb Space Telescope shows Jupiter’s auroras, tiny moons

See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Please include the title when you click here to report it.

Copyright 2022 WXIX. All rights reserved.