Stargazers capture Jupiter and its 4 moons in closest date with Earth

New Delhi: Stargazers all over the world were left mesmerized when they caught the closest glimpse of Jupiter with its four moons; few lucky people saw it with just binoculars. People took to social media with images and videos they captured of Jupiter along with its four largest moons- Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto, called the Galilean satellites.

“After shooting it all night, here is my shot of Jupiter at ‘Opposition’. This is the closest it has been to Earth in 59 years,” tweeted Andrew McCarthy, a stargazer from Arizona State in the US.

Aloke Kumar, Associate Professor at the is it’sIndian Institute of Science, Bengaluru tweeted: “Jupiter so bright. It is peering right through the clouds! You can even see three of the Galilean moons!”

Jupiter so bright, its peering right through the clouds! You can even see three of the Galilean moons ! pic.twitter.com/2x9aK7tqBh

— Aloke Kumar (@aalokelab) September 26, 2022

People even took the shot of Jupiter with smartphones with high-end cameras and some with large telescopes. Jupiter’s opposition occurs every 13 months, making the planet appear larger and brighter than any other time of the year. Its closest approach to the Earth rarely coincides with opposition, which means this year’s view was extraordinary. At its closest approach, Jupiter was approximately 365 million miles in distance from Earth. The planet is approximately 600 million miles away from Earth at its farthest point. NASA’s Juno Spacecraft, which has been orbiting Jupiter for six years, is dedicated to exploring the planet’s surface and its moon.