                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2024 December 5

                       Stereo Jupiter near Opposition
                   Image Credit & Copyright: Marco Lorenzi

   Explanation: Jupiter looks sharp in these two rooftop telescope images.
   Both were captured last year on November 17 from Singapore, planet
   Earth, about two weeks after Jupiter's 2023 opposition. Climbing high
   in midnight skies the giant planet was a mere 33.4 light-minutes from
   Singapore. That's about 4 astronomical units away. Jupiter's planet
   girdling dark belts and light zones are visible in remarkable detail,
   along with the giant world's whitish oval vortices. Its signature Great
   Red Spot is prominent in the south. Jupiter rotates rapidly on its axis
   once every 10 hours. So, based on video frames taken only 15 minutes
   apart, these images form a stereo pair. Look at the center of the pair
   and cross your eyes until the separate images come together to see the
   3D effect. Of course Jupiter is now not far from its 2024 opposition.
   Planet Earth is set to pass between the Solar System's ruling gas giant
   and the Sun on December 7.

                  Tomorrow's picture: Fireball Tsuchinshan
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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