Sunday, September 19, 2010

APOD 1.3

                                          Jupiter and Io from New Horizons 

The New Horizons spacecraft is currently traveling traveling through our Solar System towards Pluto; except it made a pit stop off at Jupiter and caught a glimpse of this amazing scene. This picture was captured using infrared light to falsify the color both the planet and its moon. 

I chose this picture mostly because on September 20th Jupiter will be in opposition to the Sun which will make it much brighter in the sky. In addition, Jupiter is supposed to be closer to Earth than any year since 1963. This is all supposed to start at sunset and last the entire night; it will be spectacular. 

On September 22nd a Full Moon is expected which would mean that it will also be in opposition to the Sun. Looks like this week will be a great one to look toward the sky! 

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