SEP 20, 2010 - Closest Encounter With Jupiter is timely stuff for this week, now that the Giant Planet of our solar system is in its perigee (closest approach to Earth). Actually, this particular pass is a super-perigee, a combination of two factors. One is the Sun-Jupiter opposition as seen from Earth, which means that we're in that part of our orbit where we're lined up with the Sun on one side and Jupiter exactly at the opposite point: this means we're in the close approach to Jupiter portion of our orbit around the Sun, and it happens once a year. The other factor is that Jupiter is at or near its perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) at the same time: this means Jove is in the close approach to Sol portion of its orbit, and that happens only once in a dozen years. For one thing, it's a combination that makes Jupiter appear preternaturally large and bright in our night sky, rising in the east at sunset and setting in the west at sunrise (when we're east of the Sun and west of Jupiter); and reaching its culmination (high point in the sky) at midnight. It happens on the night of the 20th, and if there's a clear sky where you are, it's well worth venturing out to take in this Jupiter Max spectacle; the Jovian equivalent of the Mercury, Venus and Mars Max cycles I've been writing about in my forecasts for many years now. After all, Jupiter won't be this close again for another dozen years, and who knows who'll be here for that one! Jack Horkheimer, alas, will be missing this year's super-perigee. He's the late, great director of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium, whose avuncular voice you've no doubt heard on PBS down through the years, enthusiastically exhorting you to "Keep Looking Up!" so as not to miss the wonders of the cosmos. Do Jack proud, and feast your eyes: get out there and look up.
