Jupiter and the Moon dominate the sky

For the next few evenings Jupiter and the Moon put on a show as they brighten up the southern sky. Jupiter is in Capricornus moving gradually eastward across the constellation. The Moon, just past first quarter phase, is also speeding across Capricornus and will appear very near to Jupiter on Monday evening October 26th.

Jupiter will remain a brilliant light high in the southern sky for the remainder of 2009. I enjoy the close-up view of the planet through a telescope or binoculars because you can see the four Galilean satellites, moons that are big enough to see with just 10 or 20x magnification, moons that move so quickly that you can detect the change of position of the four Galilean moons with respect to each other in just one evening of watching.