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Jupiter To Be Visible

Posted by Hemos on from the looking-at-the-stars dept.

KillerBluj writes "CNN says "The largest planet in the solar system will be directly overhead at midnight on New Year's Eve, according to astronomer Jack Horkheimer. The ringed planet Saturn also will be visible, and both will be joined in the sky by the almost full moon. When the sun sets on Monday, Jupiter will rise in the northeast and will slowly climb in the sky until it reaches its highest point at midnight. The almost full moon will trail Jupiter to the east, "bathing the landscape in brilliant cosmic light," Horkheimer said. "--- This should be really interesting to see both planets and the full moon. Wonder what's going to happen tonight?!"

17 of 25 comments (clear)

  1. What's going to happen by Lars+T. · · Score: 2, Funny

    ... he asks. Time for a new Slashdot topic: Astrology and other nonsense.

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  2. Ummmm, by Unknown+Poltroon · · Score: 1

    Isn't jupiter noramlly visible? AS is saturn and the moon. Whats the big deal?

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    1. Re:Ummmm, by polymath69 · · Score: 1
      The thing is that Jupiter is much closer than normal, so it will appear brighter. Also, being directly overhead at midnight will make it easier than normal for the novice stargazer to locate it. See also this Star Gazer script.

      Me, I'm going to head out with binoculars and see if I can spot any of its moons. That'd be a personal first.

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    2. Re:Ummmm, by FreeMath · · Score: 2

      The big deal is that somebody at CNN wrote about it. Nothing really special. If you wanted something special one of Jupiter's moons made a transit across the surface of the planet last thursday. That was cool.

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  3. Cosmic event by SloWave · · Score: 1

    The gravitational pull from having Jupiter, Saturn, and the moon overhead like that is going to suck the blood into everyones heads meaking them go crazy at midnight.

  4. Ahhh!! The world is ending!! by Atheevo · · Score: 1

    Scary stuff!! hehe.. I wonder which cult group will be commiting suicide tonight... (astronomy can do some funny things to people.. remember the comets a few years back..?..) Miss Cleo will be busy.

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    1. Re:Ahhh!! The world is ending!! by AstroJetson · · Score: 1
      remember the comets a few years back..?
      Saw a bumper sticker soon after that:

      So many stupid people, so few comets

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  5. All your alcohol... by Renraku · · Score: 1

    UFO reports triple as people look up and see "..bright white light and two dimmer lights beside them, spinning around in circles." then they will wake up the next morning, laying on the ground in the forest and blame aliens.

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  6. Don't squander the view! by Zen+Mastuh · · Score: 4, Interesting

    One thing I'm always grateful for is a clear sky on a dark night and the humbling power of the billions and billions of stars that are visible to my eye. A few months ago, there was an article on light pollution, along with links to nighttime shots of earth to illustrate the intensity of light pollution. Along with that article was the revelation that there are a growing number of people who have never seen a starry night. Sounds trivial to you, but such a simple thing is very important because it forces the alert human to put things into perspective and to see that there are greater things than man can create.

    Light pollution isn't the only threat to our ability to witness astronomically significant events: space billboards will probably debut as soon as the economy goes back into upswing. Laugh if you must, but don't be surprised if future articles warn you "you'll have to squint to see Jupiter tonight, because the Coca-Cola® billboard will be about 3 to the east..." or similar.

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    1. Re:Don't squander the view! by Unknown+Poltroon · · Score: 1

      Isnt the alert human the one whos watching for the panter in the bushes, rather than staring up at the stars? You want the dreamer human, they're hard to come by, as they keep getting eaten by carnivores and run over by busses while pondering the greater nature of the universe. ;)

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  7. Forget about Jupiter by Cro+Magnon · · Score: 1

    When will we get a good view of Uranus?

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  8. I wonder WHEN it's going to happen by mirabilos · · Score: 1

    At midnight, ok. But which timezone?

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    1. Re:I wonder WHEN it's going to happen by ezesch · · Score: 1

      Duh, think about it....

    2. Re:I wonder WHEN it's going to happen by mirabilos · · Score: 1

      I dont know where CNN is (I even dont know what
      CNN is) nor do I know where the user lives.
      Sorry, but I'm no Englishman...

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    3. Re:I wonder WHEN it's going to happen by ezesch · · Score: 1

      The Sun is overhead at noon, no matter what time zone you are in.

    4. Re:I wonder WHEN it's going to happen by jeffy124 · · Score: 1

      CNN is the Cable News Network - a 24/7 News channel in the US. It's located in Atlanta, GA, eastern standard time, which is 5 hours after GMT time (meaning 12midnight GMT is 7pm EST).

      Aside from that, it was midnight in ANY time zone for the best view. You should be able to see it tonight at about the same spot is was last night.

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  9. New material please! by fm6 · · Score: 2

    http://www.altpeter.de/pub/fortune/futurama