A rare total eclipse of Jupiter by the Sun on June 19, 2013

A rare total eclipse of Jupiter by the Sun on June 19, 2013

Planet Jupiter began the month of June 2013 being positioned very low in the west sky just after sunset. However soon it will disappear into the solar glare, as Jupiter is approaching the Sun for a solar conjunction on June 19, 2013. At that time Jupiter will

Triple conjunction in the sunset sky on May 26, 2013

Triple conjunction in the sunset sky on May 26, 2013

The three brightest planets in this month's night sky are lining up for a remarkable sunset conjunction at the end of May. 

On May 26, 2013, in a triple conjunction, Venus, Jupiter and Mercury will form a tight triangle only three degrees

May 2013 Skywatching guide

May 2013 Skywatching guide

May 2013 brings few interesting sky events. This years Eta Aquarid meteor shower will peak on May 6 with expected zenith hourly rate of 55 meteors per hour. We are about to experience annular solar eclipse on May 9/10. Annularity will be visible from

Water in Jupiter's atmosphere came from 1994 comet impact

Water in Jupiter's atmosphere came from 1994 comet impact

Observations by ESA's Herschel space observatory have revealed origin of water's mysterious presence in Jupiter's atmosphere. Using sensitive spectral imaging, researchers were able to confirm that water came from historic comet impact in July

NASA plans to search for signs of life on Jupiter’s moon Europa

NASA plans to search for signs of life on Jupiter’s moon Europa

Early in December NASA officials announced that they plan to launch a $1.5 billion rover to Mars in 2020. NASA investigates the possible habitability of Europa, Jupiter’s fourth-largest moon. One concept that may be gaining traction is a so-called “clipper” probe

ScienceCasts: Christmas Sky Show

ScienceCasts: Christmas Sky Show

This Christmas, the Moon and Jupiter are converging for a heavenly sky show. Jupiter and the Moon are only a degree or two apart, depending on your location (in the Americas) and the time of evening. If you watch through binoculars, you can see Aldebaran right…

Amazing video of Jupiter’s rotation by Mike Phillips

Amazing video of Jupiter’s rotation by Mike Phillips

Planetary astrophotographer Mike Phillips made amazing 8 second video of Jupiter. Mike filmed Jupiter through his home-made f/4.5 14″ Newtonian telescope for a consecutive 1.5 hours on September 12, 2012. He batched up groups of frames, stacked them together (to

Moon, Venus and Jupiter sky show in early morning sky

Moon, Venus and Jupiter sky show in early morning sky

Venus, Jupiter and the moon will gather together in the early morning sky Sunday (July 15). Set your alarm clock for around 4:30 a.m. local time on Sunday and watch east-northeast sky. The crescent moon, just 13%i lluminated, appears in close proximity to the two