Kicking off the new calendar this month is a tasty opportunity to see Jupiter and its four largest moons with the naked eye.
On January 10th, generally across the US time zones, Jupiter will crest the eastern horizon at sundown and continue to climb until midnight when it reaches the highest point in the sky.
On this date, our solar system’s largest planet is in opposition, which means it’s positioned on the other side of the sky from the Sun from the prospective of Earth.
After dark, one will be able to see Jupiter with the naked eye, and with a pair of binoculars or a telescope, can see Io, Ganymede, Europa, and Callisto, the four largest moons of Jupiter.
Also called the Galilean Moons, they were first identified by Galileo Galilei in 1610. Io is the most volcanic world in the solar system, while Ganymede is the largest satellite. Callisto appears spotted because of its many craters.
The 10th will be 7 days after the full Moon, which this month will be a supermoon, so there may be some light pollution from the waning half.
It is called the Wolf Moon because it was believed that wolves were more likely to howl in North American lands in January, it will peak at 2:00 a.m. Pacific time.
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