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any star in the night sky. It is in a region of the sky filled with bright stars, near the bright star Aldebaran in the constellation Taurus.
• The clocks in Austin, Texas, say the opposition is tonight at 8 p.m. on December 2. Yet, according to Universal Time - the standard clock time at the meridian of 0o longitude - the opposition of Jupiter happens at 2 a.m. on December 3. The opposition happens at the same instant worldwide but at different clock times.
• For the fun of it, we also show the asteroid Vesta's place in front of the constellation Taurus on the feature chart at top, because this world will be at opposition and closest to Earth on December 9, 2012. More than likely, you'll need an optical aid, a dark sky and a good sky chart to see Vesta. The moonless nights accompanying the Geminid meteor shower on December 12, 13 and 14 should be great spotting the asteroid Vesta (possibly even with the unaided eye).
• But for now, we return our focus on Jupiter, the largest world in our solar system. It shines well over four thousand times more brightly than the asteroid Vesta.
• Jupiter comes to opposition every 13 months or so, as Earth takes this long to travel once around the sun relative to Jupiter. Jupiter's closest approach to Earth for the year always falls on or near this planet's opposition date. In 2012, Jupiter came nearest to Earth on December 1, at 15 hours Universal Time (9 a.m. Central Time). Then Jupiter was only 378 million miles (609 million kilometers) away. Because Jupiter passed its perihelion - or closest point to the sun - in March 2011, the giant planet is now getting farther from the sun. As a result, at this opposition, Jupiter is as close as it will be until the year 2021.
(Continued on page 18)
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