jupiter | EarthSky

Two dots, Mercury and Jupiter, lie next to one another. They are immediately above the horizon.

Will you see the Jupiter-Mercury conjunction on August 15?

A conjunction is when 2 objects share the same right ascension. The Jupiter-Mercury conjunction on August 15 is the next one. Look for them before sunrise.

Closeup of Jupiter with color bands, large oval red spot, and a line of 4 large, irregular dark spots.

Shoemaker-Levy 9 impact on Jupiter 32 years ago

Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 hit Jupiter in 1994, 32 years ago, scarring the planet's surface and leaving behind water that remained in the atmosphere for decades.

Sky trails with two much brighter than the rest over a dark background and tower.

Venus-Jupiter conjunction: Sky’s 2 brightest planets meet

Did you see the Venus-Jupiter conjunction? The planets are still close together and putting on a show in the west after sunset. Read more here.

A woman pointing at 2 very bright dots in the deep twilight sky, with some purple clouds.

Venus-Jupiter conjunction 2026. Wow! Best photos here

The Venus-Jupiter conjunction for 2026 is here! Enjoy these stunning photos from around the world as the sky’s brightest planets have been drawing closer.

Large banded planet with huge pole to pole band of white fluffy clouds at edge of nightside.

Hot Jupiter exoplanet has cloudy mornings and clear evenings

New observations with the Webb space telescope of the hot Jupiter exoplanet WASP-94A b show that sandy clouds fill the morning skies, but dissipate by evening.

Brownish planet with band-like swirls of white clouds and a distant sun.

Surprise! A Jupiter-like exoplanet with water-ice clouds

A Jupiter-like exoplanet with water-ice clouds? NASA's Webb space telescope has found the 1st signs of cirrus-like clouds on exoplanet Epsilon Indi Ab.

2 large planets with dusty disks around them. One has magnetic field lines arcing from pole to pole.

Why do Jupiter’s large moons outnumber Saturn’s?

Jupiter's large moons - Ganymede, Callisto, Io and Europa - number four. But Saturn has just one large moon, Titan. Why? It may be the planets' magnetic fields.

Lightning on Jupiter is 100 times more powerful than Earth’s

Researchers using data from the Juno spacecraft have found that lightning on Jupiter can be 100 times more powerful than on Earth, and maybe even much more.

Animation of many small moons circling Saturn, with colorful orbits displayed.

More moons for Jupiter and Saturn! New totals here

The Minor Planet Center announced 4 more moons for Jupiter and 11 for Saturn on March 16, 2026. Their new grand totals? Saturn has 285 and Jupiter has 101.

Large, bright white egg-shaped object. It has several diffuse filaments streaming behind it, and background stars.

Striking new image of 3I/ATLAS from Jupiter-bound spacecraft

The European Space Agency just released a new image of 3I/ATLAS - the famous interstellar comet - from its JUICE spacecraft. JUICE will reach Jupiter in 2031.

Closeup of part of Jupiter, with a large black oval shadow on its colorful bands.

Jupiter’s moons: How to see and enjoy them

December 2026 and January 2027 are great months for seeing Jupiter's moons Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto with binoculars or a small telescope.

Sky chart: Sirius close to the horizon with the moon, Jupiter, Orion and a few bright stars nearby.

New Year’s Star Sirius, the moon and Jupiter ring in 2026

Entertain your friends on New Year's Eve by showing them the New Year's Star, the soon-to-be full supermoon and Jupiter. Sirius is highest at midnight.

Sky chart: 2 positions of moon, 1 full, 1 gibbous, along slanted green line, with Jupiter close to the gibbous moon and 2 stars.

January full moon: Super Wolf Moon near Jupiter and perihelion

The 2026 January full moon, the Super Wolf Moon, is fullest on the morning of January 3. It'll appear full on both January 2 and 3 with Jupiter nearby.

Half a sphere with red-brown, blue and white bands of swirly clouds.

Young Jupiter protected Earth from the sun, study finds

New simulations reveal how Jupiter protected Earth from the sun in our planet's early years, while also explaining a long-standing meteorite mystery.

A thin spacecraft with 2 wide antennas pointed vertically in front of a large, beige world.

JUICE mission to Jupiter completes Venus flyby

The JUICE mission successfully performed a gravity assist around Venus on August 31, 2025, helping it pick up speed for its long journey to Jupiter.

2 bright dots in a dark blue sky. There are some trees in the foreground.

Venus and Jupiter conjunction. Plus meteors! See the images

Venus and Jupiter - the 2 brightest planets in Earth’s sky – were closest together for this year Monday morning. Here are the best images.

Large gas giant planet close to, and partly blocking, a bright sunlike star.

Double hot Jupiters: How do these rare gigantic worlds form?

A new study from Yale University shows how double hot Jupiters can form in binary star systems. These exoplanets are similar to Jupiter but searingly hot.

Jupiter and Io: Cluster of bright reddish and yellowish swirling vortices on a planet.

Jupiter and Io: New insights into stormy, volcanic worlds

NASA's Juno orbiter has taken an in-depth look at Jupiter and Io, revealing what they are like beneath their turbulent atmosphere and fiery surface.

Jupiter’s auroras caught on film. Watch here!

The Webb space telescope has captured video of Jupiter's auroras, showing them popping, fizzing and moving at great speed. See the video here.

Ammonia-water mushballs raining on Jupiter, says new theory

Ammonia-water mushballs could be raining down on Jupiter, explaining why some parts of the planet's upper atmosphere are deficient in ammonia.

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Will you see the Jupiter-Mercury conjunction on August 15?

Shoemaker-Levy 9 impact on Jupiter 32 years ago

Venus-Jupiter conjunction: Sky’s 2 brightest planets meet

Venus-Jupiter conjunction 2026. Wow! Best photos here

Hot Jupiter exoplanet has cloudy mornings and clear evenings

Surprise! A Jupiter-like exoplanet with water-ice clouds

Why do Jupiter’s large moons outnumber Saturn’s?

Lightning on Jupiter is 100 times more powerful than Earth’s

More moons for Jupiter and Saturn! New totals here

Striking new image of 3I/ATLAS from Jupiter-bound spacecraft

Jupiter’s moons: How to see and enjoy them

New Year’s Star Sirius, the moon and Jupiter ring in 2026

January full moon: Super Wolf Moon near Jupiter and perihelion

Young Jupiter protected Earth from the sun, study finds

JUICE mission to Jupiter completes Venus flyby

Venus and Jupiter conjunction. Plus meteors! See the images

Double hot Jupiters: How do these rare gigantic worlds form?

Jupiter and Io: New insights into stormy, volcanic worlds

Jupiter’s auroras caught on film. Watch here!

Ammonia-water mushballs raining on Jupiter, says new theory