Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 48

DECEMBER 2024 OBSERVING
Celestial Calendar by Bob King
See Jupiter Big and Bright
J
upiter stands before the northern
summit of the ecliptic this
month, roughly 1° shy of its maximum
northerly declination. When it reaches
opposition on December 7th, it will
shine from Taurus at magnitude −2.8.
Believe it or not, that's bright enough
to cast faint shadows.
In October 2023, just before the
previous opposition on November 3rd, I
attempted to see my shadow by Jupiterlight
when the planet gleamed in the
eastern sky. With averted vision I could
barely discern my shape projected on a
white garage door as I swayed from side
to side - in low light, motion helps to
reveal things dimly perceived. As the
photo on the facing page shows, my
DSLR camera clearly recorded its own
silhouette by Jovian light in a 30-second
exposure at ISO 8000.
48 DECEMBER 2024 * SKY & TELESCOPE
For observers at mid-northern
latitudes, Jupiter crosses the meridian
far above the muck that clings to the
horizon. That places the planet in relatively
steady skies, making the current
apparition one of the best for pushing
your observing skills to the limit to
uncover delicate details in the planet's
churning cloudtops. You can even try to
discern mottled albedo features on Jupiter's
largest moon, Ganymede. At 1.8″
across, it's only 0.6″ smaller than Neptune's
disk when that planet reaches
opposition, as it did last September.
There are also lots of easy sights.
Low magnification and a small scope
are all you need to enjoy the dance of
the Galilean satellites (see page 78) as
they weave their way around the planet
night after night during the month.
Jupiter's north pole is tipped earthward
It's opposition time once again for the solar system's most dynamic planet.
2.9° at opposition. As a result, Callisto,
the outermost of the four bright
moons, passes approximately 5″ north
or south of the Jovian disk instead of
crossing its face. You can view these
cherry-on-top (and bottom) passes
occurring on December 4th at around 2
a.m. EST (south of Jupiter); on December
12th 4 a.m. PST (north); and on
December 28th 9:30 p.m. EST (north).
The other three Galilean moons will
undergo their usual entertaining
pThis March 25, 2019, photo by UK planetary
imager Damian Peach shows Ganymede (left)
and Europa casting their shadows on the
clouds of Jupiter's northern hemisphere during
a double-shadow transit. Ganymede, the
larger moon, casts the bigger shadow. While
not rare, shadow transits allow us to see from
a distance what our own Moon does during a
total solar eclipse.

Sky & Telescope - December 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sky & Telescope - December 2024

Contents
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - Cover1
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - Cover2
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 1
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - Contents
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 3
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 4
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 5
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 6
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 7
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 8
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 9
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 10
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 11
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 12
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 13
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 14
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 15
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 16
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 17
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 18
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 19
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 20
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 21
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 22
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 23
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 24
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 25
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 26
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 27
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 28
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 29
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 30
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 31
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 32
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 33
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 34
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 35
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 36
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 37
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 38
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Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 40
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 41
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 42
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 43
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 44
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 45
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 46
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 47
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 48
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 49
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 50
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 51
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Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 53
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 54
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 55
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 56
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 57
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 58
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Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 60
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Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 63
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Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 80
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 81
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Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - Cover3
Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - Cover4
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