Ducks from Jupiter
The planet is not exceptional only because some can imagine the animals there; Its size alone: it can hold more than a thousand globes. In September it is especially close to Earth.
Jupiter is made of gas and has no solid surface. It has long been speculated whether organisms could exist in its atmosphere. Also pictured: Jupiter’s moons Io (lower left) and Ganymede (top right).
Photo: (Getty Images)
No, there are no ducks on Jupiter. Although, the scammer recently tweeted an purported image of the James Webb Telescope, in which animals swim in the atmosphere of the giant planet. But even without animals, the celestial body is exceptional, for example in terms of its size: if you empty it like a pumpkin, it would have space for more than a thousand earth globes. In addition, the mass of Jupiter is 318 times the mass of our planet – also a record in the solar system. The giant rotates on its axis very quickly, the day on it lasts less than ten hours. Because of this, Jupiter is slightly flattened.
Thousands of kilometers thick, the atmosphere of the king of the planets consists mainly of hydrogen – present in liquid form in the deep layers and even in metallic form due to high pressure – and helium with a mixture of ammonia and methane. Even a small amateur telescope shows clusters of light and dark clouds parallel to the gaseous atmosphere, which testify to the turbulent weather on Jupiter. The roughly Earth-sized solid core consists of silicate and iron rock. 79 known moons dance around the planet, four of which are shown in binoculars. The next few weeks will bring favorable conditions for observation, because on September 26 Jupiter will be facing the Sun and will reach its closest distance from Earth at 591 million km. It is currently the brightest “star” in the sky.
Saturn and Mars can also be seen
Although the summer triangle with the stars Atair in the eagle, Deneb in the swan and Vega in the harp is still high in the sky, autumn is already moving in the east with the images of Pegasus and Andromeda. Aquarius, Capricorn, and Sagittarius twinkle above the southern horizon, with Ophiuchus and Hercules to the west. In the upper northwest, the crown flashes, under which the Big Dipper shines. Cassiopeia and Perseus congregate in the northeast, Capella shines in the far chariot to the north.
Graphics: Stellarium
Mercury remains invisible in September, and Venus disappears from the eastern morning sky at the end of the month. Mars rises in Taurus in the first half of the night, Jupiter appears in Pisces all night, and Saturn in Capricorn begins about four hours after midnight in the middle of the month. Moon schedule: first quarter on 3rd, full moon on 10th, last quarter on 17th and new moon on September 25th. On September 23, the Sun crosses the celestial equator: at 3:04 am, astronomical autumn begins.
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