Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

DreamGypsy

(2,252 posts)
Mon Jan 14, 2013, 02:41 PM Jan 2013

Jupiter rules the evening sky.

We are in the midst of the western cold snap. I've been walking the dogs around the fields about 5pm, the day is gone, but it's not quite dark enough to say dusk has taken hold. Jupiter at magnitude -2.7 shines like a beacon in the sky to the East, well below zenith. After 5 minutes or so, a few scattered stars appear and then a pinkish Aldebaran peeks out below Jupiter.

Last evening as I watched the display unfold, I mused about the wonder of the times we live in. Documented observations of Jupiter date back to the 7th or 8th century BCE. There is a claim that a Chinese visual discovery of a moon of Jupiter was made in 362 BCE. Only in the last 50 years have we begun to understand the complexities of the Jovian system. And now, we can fully appreciate the relationship of Jupiter to our planet through photographs from space capturing both systems.

On return from the walk I poked around and found this article on Earth and Jupiter Seen in a Single Photo Taken From Mars.

Back on May 8th, 2003, the Mars Orbiter Camera on the Mars Global Surveyor had the rare opportunity to photograph both the Earth and Jupiter in the same region of space. It was the first planetary conjunction observed from another planet, with the Earth 86 million miles away and Jupiter 600 million miles away. The resulting image, contains both planets, along with Earth's moon and Callisto, Ganymede, and Europa.




Here's the enlarged view pointed to by the red arrow.



If you’re wondering why Jupiter looks larger than Earth in the photograph even though it’s so far away, it’s because of perspective distortion coupled with the fact that Jupiter is so much bigger.


Here’s a to-scale size comparison:



MAGIC!
7 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Jupiter rules the evening sky. (Original Post) DreamGypsy Jan 2013 OP
beautiful samsingh Jan 2013 #1
Jupiter is what you get mindwalker_i Jan 2013 #2
What I tell my kids; Warren DeMontague Jan 2013 #3
That is amazing. krispos42 Jan 2013 #4
Thanks for the very interesting post.... n/t xocet Jan 2013 #5
You're very welcome! All the Mars Global Explorer image release... DreamGypsy Jan 2013 #6
Jupiter is pretty much the only "star" you can see right now because of the city lights. Odin2005 Jan 2013 #7

Warren DeMontague

(80,708 posts)
3. What I tell my kids;
Mon Jan 14, 2013, 04:11 PM
Jan 2013

"Basically, if it's really, really bright and it's in the middle of the sky in the middle of the night, it's gotta be Jupiter"

DreamGypsy

(2,252 posts)
6. You're very welcome! All the Mars Global Explorer image release...
Tue Jan 15, 2013, 05:18 PM
Jan 2013

... organized by year and month can be found here: http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/

The Jupiter - Earth conjunction photos from May 2003 is here: http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2003/05/22/index.html

Data and discussion is included with the photos. Enjoy.

Latest Discussions»Culture Forums»Science»Jupiter rules the evening...