59-year wait to end! Jupiter at its Biggest soon; NASA says you just need binocs | Tech News

59-year wait to end! Jupiter at its Biggest soon; NASA says you just need binocs

Know when, where and how to catch a rare glimpse of Jupiter this week. NASA says watch it with just binoculars.

By: HT TECH
| Updated on: Sep 24 2022, 23:24 IST
NASA DART Mission in pics: Amazing Attack on Asteroid!
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1/6 NASA with its Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) Mission spacecraft is all set to collide with a non-hazardous asteroid called Dimorphos in order to test planetary defence on Monday, September 26. The learnings from this asteroid attack will be used to protect Earth from asteroids that are heading for a collision with our planet. According to NASA, this will be the world's first mission to deflect an asteroid in space. NASA’s DART, built and managed by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, will demonstrate and test asteroid deflection by kinetic impactor. (Bloomberg)
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2/6 Dimorphos, the asteroid moonlet of Didymos poses no threat to Earth. The DART spacecraft had recently got its first look at Didymos, the double-asteroid system that includes its target, Dimorphos. It is being said that in 2024, the European Space Agency (ESA) will send a space probe to Dimorphos as part of the space mission HERA. The aim of the mission is to visually investigate the aftermath of the DART probe impact. (NASA )
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3/6 When to watch: The live broadcast of the event will start on September 26 at 6 p.m., EDT. The spacecraft will impact its target asteroid at 7:14 p.m. EDT, while at 8:00 p.m. ET, the research organisation will host a post-impact press briefing. (AFP)
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4/6 Where to watch: The historic collision can be watched live online as NASA will be broadcasting the same. NASA will broadcast the live coverage of DART’s impact with the asteroid Dimorphos on NASA TV and its several social media handles like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. (AFP)
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5/6 About asteroids: According to NASA, More than 100 tons of dust and sand sized particles are bombarded towards Earth everyday. While, about once a year, an automobile-sized asteroid hits Earth's atmosphere, creates an impressive fireball, and burns up before reaching the surface. Every 2,000 years or so, a meteoroid the size of a football field hits Earth and causes significant damage to the area. Only once every few million years, an object large enough to threaten Earth's civilization comes along. Impact craters on Earth, the moon and other planetary bodies are evidence of these occurrences. (AP)
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6/6 Space rocks smaller than about 25 meters (about 82 feet) will most likely burn up as they enter the Earth's atmosphere and cause little or no damage. By comparison, asteroids that populate the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, and pose no threat to Earth, can be as big as 940 kilometers (about 583 miles) across. (MINT_PRINT)
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Enjoy the night sky on September 26 to have a rare glimpse of Jupiter. (NASA)

This week, the night sky will see a special member of our solar system make for a spectacular view from Earth. It is the largest planet in the solar system, Jupiter, which will make its closest approach to Earth. It has been steadily brightening and rising in the night sky over the last few months. Now, on September 26, Jupiter is ready to reach its annual “opposition” and closest point to Earth. "Opposition" happens when an astronomical object rises in the east as the Sun sets in the west from the perspective of Earth. This brings the space object and the Sun to the opposite sides of the Earth, NASA explained.

"At its closest approach, Jupiter will be approximately 367 million miles in distance from Earth, about the same distance it was in 1963. The massive planet is approximately 600 million miles away from Earth at its farthest point," NASA added

As Jupiter takes around 12 years to orbit the Sun, its opposition occurs once every 13 months from the view of Earth, but this time it will be coming the closest in 59 years. The spellbinding view of Jupiter in the sky will bring a rare event for the stargazers. Know when, where and how to catch a mesmerizing glimpse of the largest planet Jupiter this week.

As mentioned earlier, if the weather permits, you can expect excellent views on September 26. However, the unique effect is expected to last for a few weeks.

How to catch a rare glimpse of Jupiter

What all you need is a good pair of binoculars! A research astrophysicist at NASA, Adam Kobelski, suggested that with good binoculars, at least the central band and three or four of the Galilean satellites (moons) will be visible. However, you'll need a large telescope to see the Great Red Spot of the planet. Some filters in the green to blue range may enhance the visibility of these features of Jupiter. Kobelski suggests that an ideal viewing location will be at a high elevation in a dark and dry area, preferably outside a city.

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First Published Date: 24 Sep, 23:24 IST
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