Jupiter plans spectacular New Year light show
The planet Jupiter is set for a spectacular light show that will make it so bright it could be mistaken for an aircraft.
New Year's Day marks Jupiter's newest opposition, which means it will reach a point in the sky opposite the sun.
As well as being strongly illuminated, it will be relatively close to the Earth - a mere 395 million miles away - and will significantly outshine everything else in the sky except the sun and moon.
The planet will hang brilliantly in the constellation Gemini high in the south east, reaching its maximum altitude at midnight.
Training a small telescope on Jupiter will reveal a truly dramatic New Year spectacle. The planet's gaseous disk will span a distance about a 40th that of the full moon.
A three-inch or larger telescope will reveal the wonders at which Galileo marvelled in 1610, when he became the first person to see Jupiter's miniature solar system.
Jupiter will reveal itself as a salmon globe crossed by cloud belts and bands.
The Great Red Spot - a huge storm system larger than the Earth - should also be visible, as will Io, Ganymede, Europa and Callisto, four bright Jovian moons aligned on opposite sides of the disk.
Dark spots may also be glimpsed as Jupiter's moons cast shadows on its surface.
