Local stargazers catch closest view of Jupiter in nearly 60 years

When night fell on Sept 23, about 15 members of The Astronomical Society of Singapore (Tasos) turned up in Bukit Batok Nature Park, filled with bright hopes of tracking Jupiter in the sky.

But, at 8pm, it was cloudy and data scientist Koh Wee Ming, 37, did not pull out his 1.8kg telescope. When the skies cleared up around 11pm, showtime started for Dr Koh, who got to see more of the gas giant's features than he had expected.

His "date" with Jupiter turned out well because he caught the planet four days before it reached its closest approach to Earth in almost 60 years. This phenomenon after 3.15am last Tuesday is called Jupiter's Opposition, where the planet sits directly opposite the Sun, with Earth in between. During the Opposition period, Jupiter will be closer to Earth than at any other time of the year, with the planet appearing larger and brighter.

While the Opposition is fairly common and happens every 13 months, this year's event was special as the planet made its closest approach to Earth since 1963. This meant that through a telescope, Jupiter's bands and swirls would appear sharper.

Mr Albert Lim, 63, a committee member and former president of Tasos, said while Jupiter can be seen as an unblinking white star on a clear sky, it is twice as bright during the Opposition period.

While the golden hour has passed, Jupiter will still reign as a bright white star in the early night sky until about early February 2023, said Mr Tan Jyh Harng, senior science educator at Science Centre Observatory. It can be spotted from now till late October after sunset, in the eastern direction, he said.

From November till the end of 2022, Jupiter will start appearing higher in the sky after sunset.

Opposition aside, turbulence in the air is a key factor affecting the visual sharpness of a planet through a telescope, he added.

Astrophotography hobbyist Robin Lim, 38, said his telescope image of Jupiter around 11pm on Sept 26 - a few hours before the Opposition - was marred by atmospheric disturbance.

"The sky was clear, but there was this thin layer of high clouds. I could only capture one of Jupiter's moons at that time, which is Io," added the operations director, who tried to view the phenomenon from a Toa Payoh void deck. Mr Lim said on Nov 8 a total lunar eclipse and blood moon will take place, and the phenomenon will be visible from here.