The gem at the moment is the one everyone’s talking about, giant Jupiter. 

Visible later at night, it’s the favourite of astronomy clubs all around the world. 

Why? Because it’s just so clear and easy to see.

“If you promise to grab your telescope, I’ll grab mine, and we’ll go and have a look, OK?,” said Dave Reneke from Australasian Science magazine.  

“It’s that bright starlike object peeking above the eastern sky mid evening and looks so beautiful, in even the modest instrument. Next to the Moon it’s the clearest object in a telescope.”

Jupiter’s moons are easy to spot even in a small telescope. 

‘Watching their eternal dance is always rewarding,” Dave said.

“You’ll see them as little ‘stars’ close the planet’s disc.

“By the way, you’re seeing exactly what Galileo saw way back in 1610.

The sight has remained unchained for over 400 years! ”

Jupiter continues to dominate the night sky all this month and will be big and bright all night and even the cheapest, well used telescope should be able to show you some detail.  

Not many people know this but Jupiter has a thin ring system. Yep, it was only seen close up by passing spacecraft decades ago.

This will stagger you! Jupiter isn’t called the giant planet for nothing. Jupiter is so big it will hold the earth 1300 times. 

In fact, all the planets in the solar system would fit into Jupiter comfortably, with plenty of room left over to park your car. True!

“Do you need an expensive telescope to enjoy all this?  No, absolutely not,” Dave said.  

“Many people hesitate to get involved with astronomy because they believe it requires expensive equipment. The only thing you really need to enjoy the night sky is your eyes, a dark viewing location, and some patience.”

Now, if you haven’t done so, why not sign up for my weekly newsletter at www.davidreneke.com.  

There’s a free 323 page e-book for doing so called The Complete Idiots Guide to Astronomy. Sound like you?  

Enjoy your skies.