2 minute read
Jupiter and Mars
By TREVOR O’DONOGHUE
As October draws to a close and the skies overhead herald winter, the planets are putting on a show. It is an ideal time to become familiar with some of the brighter neighbours in the Solar System. Right now, apart from the Moon, Jupiter is the brightest object in the night sky. The largest planet in the Solar System is dazzling in the south east as night falls and climbs higher as it approaches midnight. At present, Jupiter is four times the distance from the Earth to Sun away from us. Light, traveling at 300,000 km every second, still takes almost 34 minutes to reach us. Even so, turn a set of binoculars on Jupiter and you can observe the four Galilean moons strung out either side of the planet. Check-in after a few hours or the next night and see if you can see which ones have moved. It’s pretty amazing to be able to see this with standard binoculars. If you are lucky enough to own a small telescope, then some of Jupiter’s equatorial bands are within reach. A larger telescope will show more detail and if conditions are good, you should be able to see the Great Red Spot and maybe watch the moons as they pass behind the planet, or cast a dark shadow on the planet as they pass in front of it. As the night moves on, another planet will catch your eye. Our next door neighbour, Mars, rises around 9pm and becomes more prominent as the night progresses. If Jupiter is unmissable because of its brilliance, then Mars is unmistakable because of its colour. It is pretty bright at the moment too, with only Jupiter and Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, brighter than it. But it is its colour that stops you in your tracks. Mars is known as the Red Planet and for good reason. Mars is located in a pretty part of the sky, surrounded by bright stars and striking constellations. It is in Taurus, between the constellations Orion, and Auriga and has Gemini nearby. Between now and the start of December Mars will get brighter. Its motion amongst the stars will be noticeable over the next few months as it tracks first west and then east. Mars is much closer to us than Jupiter with light taking 5.5 minutes or so to reach us. With binoculars, Mars’ colour is more pronounced and you might be able to notice that it is a planet as opposed to the pinprick point of light that is a star, but that’s it. In spite of its relative proximity, Mars is small and to see any real detail you will need a decent sized telescope. But all is not lost, because to enjoy the fantastic sight of these two bright planets overhead for the next few months, clear skies and a pair of standard eyeballs will do just fine.
