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• Although Jupiter and its moons are easier to spot, they reside much farther away than Ceres does. Astronomers often list distances of solar system objects in astronomical units. The astronomical unit refers to the sun-Earth distance, which is equal to about 93,000,000 miles or 150,000,000 kilometers. The dwarf planet Ceres, a member of the asteroid belt in between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter, lies about two and one-third astronomical units away from Earth, and Jupiter is about four-and-one-half astronomical units away.
• Throughout October 2012, the best time to view Jupiter's moons or Ceres with the telescope is during the wee hours before dawn, or when these worlds climb highest in the sky for the night. It's often difficult to get a crisp focus on sky objects near the horizon because of the greater thickness of the Earth's atmosphere. If you're not an early morning person, wait till December 2012 to see Jupiter - or possibly Ceres - in the evening sky. In December, Jupiter and Ceres will be at opposition - opposite the sun in Earth's sky - so they'll be out all night long and more conveniently placed for evening viewing.
• By the way, as seen from southern tip of Africa, the moon will occult - cover over - the dwarf planet Ceres on the morning of October 7. Click here to find out more about this lunar occultation of Ceres.
• Bottom line: The bright object near the moon from late at night October 6, 2012 to dawn October 7 is the planet Jupiter.
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