Here’s your chance to see some drops of Jupiter.
The planet will be highly visible this week as it reaches its closest point to our planet — a state known as perigee.
Sky and Telescope reports a good time Wednesday to spot the gallantly bright Jupiter and its well-known exterior region called the Great Red Spot is 50 minutes before and after 6:36 p.m.
Jupiter enters its optimal viewing position just after midnight Friday, when the planet is most opposite the sun, according to EarthSky.org.
“Opposition occurs when the sun, Earth and planet lie along a straight line with the Earth in the middle, thus putting the sun and planet on opposite sides of the Earth, hence the term ‘opposition,’ ” Lowell Observatory astronomer Dr. Larry Wasserman said in a statement.
“This means that the planet is as close to the Earth as possible and will appear as big and as bright as it can ever get. This is a great time to take a look and discover Jupiter in opposition for yourself,” he added.
This phenomenon happens once every 13 months. Next year’s will be Dec. 7.
Those wielding binoculars may also be able to spot several of Jupiter’s four largest moons “appearing as pinpoints of light,” EarthSky noted.
Jupiter has between 80 and 95 moons, per NASA.
Jupiter will remain quite bright in our sky until December, Fox5 reports.
Later this month, stargazers can look forward to the Leonid meteor shower on Nov. 18, with up to 15 meteors visible per hour.
A full, brightly glowing “beaver moon” — named for when the critters begin winter preparations — will emerge Nov. 27, according to the Farmer’s Almanac.