2023, November 3: Jupiter at Opposition

November 3, 2023: Jupiter is in the sky all night as Earth passes between the planet and the sun.  Look for it in the eastern sky after sunset and in the west before sunrise.

The Great Red Spot from NASA's Voyager 1 in 1979.
Photo Caption – The Great Red Spot from NASA’s Voyager 1 in 1979.

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by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Chicago, Illinois:  Sunrise, 7:25 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 5:43 p.m. CDT.  Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.

This striking view of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot and turbulent southern hemisphere was captured by NASA’s Juno spacecraft as it performed a close pass of the gas giant planet.
Photo Caption – This striking view of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot and turbulent southern hemisphere was captured by NASA’s Juno spacecraft as it performed a close pass of the gas giant planet. (NASA Photo)

Jupiter is at opposition a few minutes after midnight.  At this time Earth is precisely between Jupiter and the sun.  Jupiter’s distance is over 370 million miles. 

Opposition is the name of this configuration because the sun and Jupiter are 180° apart in the sky.  They appear in opposite directions.

False color images generated from VLT observations in February and March 2016, showing two different faces of Jupiter. The bluer areas are cold and cloud-free, the orangey areas are warm and cloudy, more colourless bright regions are warm and cloud-free, and dark regions are cold and cloudy (such as the Great Red Spot and the prominent ovals). The wave pattern over the North Equatorial Band shows up in orange.
Photo Caption – False color images generated from VLT observations in February and March 2016, showing two different faces of Jupiter. The bluer areas are cold and cloud-free, the orangey areas are warm and cloudy, more colourless bright regions are warm and cloud-free, and dark regions are cold and cloudy (such as the Great Red Spot and the prominent ovals). The wave pattern over the North Equatorial Band shows up in orange. (Photo from European Southern Observatory)

Unlike some celestial events, viewing Jupiter at the opposition time is not necessary.  The planet is always spectacularly bright.  Through a telescope, at least four of its largest moons are visible, as well as clouds that are whipped parallel to the equator by the planet’s rapid rotation.  During one night the largest moons can be observed performing a slow dance around the planet as well as seeing the Great Red Spot, a long-lived atmospheric disturbance, passing across the world’s visible face. This evening the spot makes an appearance at 7:13 p.m. CDT.

Summaries of Current Sky Events
Summary for Venus as a Morning Star, 2023-24

Here is today’s planet forecast:

Morning Sky

2023, November 3: Venus is visible with Zavijava through a binocular.
Chart Caption – 2023, November 3: Venus is visible with Zavijava through a binocular.

Venus moves into Virgo, 2.8° to the upper right of Zavijava, also known as Beta Virginis.  The planet passes by in three mornings.  The conjunction’s gap is only 0.5°.

Find the morning star over 30° up in the east-southeast at about one hour before sunrise. It is “that bright star” in the east before sunrise. Locate Venus and the star through a binocular.

2023, November 3: The moon is near Castor and Pollux, the Gemini Twins, before sunrise.
Chart Caption – 2023, November 3: The moon is near Castor and Pollux, the Gemini Twins, before sunrise.

The gibbous moon, 68% illuminated, is high in the southwest, 4.1° to the lower right of Pollux and 5.2° to the lower left of Castor, the Gemini Twins.

Bright Jupiter is over 10° up in the west this morning.

Evening Sky

2023, November 3: Saturn is in the south-southeast near Deneb Algedi, Skat, and Lambda Aquarii (λ Aqr).
Chart Caption – 2023, November 3: Saturn is in the south-southeast near Deneb Algedi, Skat, and Lambda Aquarii (λ Aqr).

Mercury and Mars are not visible.  They are too close to the sun for easy observation.

An hour after sundown, Saturn is over 30° up in the south-southeast.  Not as bright as Venus or Jupiter, the Ringed Wonder outshines most of the stars in the sky this evening. 

Saturn’s retrograde – apparent westward movement compared to the distant stars – is depicted during four and one-half months.
Chart Caption – Saturn’s retrograde – apparent westward movement compared to the distant stars – is depicted during four and one-half months.

Saturn’s retrograde ends tomorrow.  Its apparent westward motion has slowed as it approaches the Aquarius-Capricornus border.  It is 6.7° to the upper left of Deneb Algedi, Capricornus’ tail.  When the planet noticeably appears to move eastward against the starfield, it moves in the general direction of Skat, the Aquarian’s leg, and Lambda Aquarii (λ Aqr on the chart). 

During the night Saturn appears farther westward, setting long before Venus rises in the eastern sky.

2023, November 3: Jupiter is in the eastern sky two hours after sundown.
Chart Caption – 2023, November 3: Jupiter is in the eastern sky two hours after sundown.

When Saturn is visible in the south-southeast after sunset, Jupiter, less than twenty-four hours after opposition, is over 10° above the eastern horizon.  In another hour, it is over 20° in altitude – height above the horizon.  From the Central Time Zone, this is about the time the Great Red Spot is visible near the center of the planet in the planet’s southern hemisphere.

Jupiter is south at midnight and sets in the western sky near sunrise.  This is the meaning of opposition. The planet is in the opposite direction of the sun.  The sun is south at noon. Jupiter is south at midnight.

2023, November 3: The gibbous moon is below Pollux, six hours after sundown.
Chart Caption – 2023, November 3: The gibbous moon is below Pollux, six hours after sundown.

The gibbous moon, 61% illuminated, rises in the east-northeast about five hours after sundown. An hour later it is over 10° above the horizon, 6.2° to the lower left of Pollux, one of the Gemini Twins.

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