The Moon closest to earth....

[brian32672]

Does anyone know when the moon will be closest to earth within the next 6 months????



I know Jupiter is very close to the moon now, at nearly 200 million miles closer than it was 6 months ago.

I just read this article, and it is true, as I did notice it earlier right after sunset..
However, I am curious as to the moon, and can't find info..



May 4, 2006: If you feel the urge to look up at the sky this month, you might be feeling the pull of Jupiter.

The giant planet is having a close encounter with Earth all month long. On May 6th, the date of closest approach, Jupiter will be 410 million miles away, which is almost 200 million miles closer than it was just six months ago in October. This makes Jupiter unusually big and bright.

Look for it rising in the east at sunset. Jupiter is unmistakable, shining ten times brighter than any star around it. The view through a backyard telescope is dynamite. You can see Jupiter's cloud belts, the Great Red Spot and four large moons (Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto) circling the planet.

Full article at NASA here - LINK

 

[Buckeye_Nut]

Yep,
It's opposition time......

Are you an astro buff?? Im a bit of one myself, but I dont really ever look at the moon much. I look at the planets if Im already out, but I'm what you call a deep space hound, and I drag my scope out to dark skies on a fairly regular basis. I dont normally get too excited about Jupiters opposition though because it's pretty big and easy to see just about anytime it's up. Now mars... that's a different story.

If I am going out and Jupiter is up, I always check the Jupiter profiler on the S&T website to check the red spot transit times. I also check to see if Jupiters moons will be doing anything interesting. It's fun when you can catch them approaching and transiting the face of the planet. Seeing the transiting moon itself is tough once it's in front of the face, but it's shadow can be seen rather easily. If you're lucky, You might be out at a time when more than one is transiting at the same time. I vaguely remember catching a night when 3 moons were transiting at the same time. If seeing conditions are expecially good, you can really make out some nice cloud detail as well.

This is a handy resource for anyone interested in catching the red spot.
http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/article_107_1.asp
Go into the almanac and change the location to your own, and whammy... it will spit out the red spot transit times in your local time. The spot isnt particularly obvious or easy to see, so you'll have to know what to look for.

 

[10010011]

Does anyone know when the moon will be closest to earth within the next 6 months????

I know Jupiter is very close to the moon now, at nearly 200 million miles closer than it was 6 months ago.

I just read this article, and it is true, as I did notice it earlier right after sunset..
However, I am curious as to the moon, and can't find info..

It looks like the closest perigee will be Jul 13 17:36 364286 km

Lunar Perigee and Apogee Calculator

As for looking at Jupiter, its really pretty low right now and unless you live down south it does not look that good. Maybe in a few months it will look better, but we are also in summer and the eclipitic is low this time of year too.

 

[Buckeye_Nut]

Actually, I think he worded his question a little off kilter.

I'll bet what he is looking for is Lunar Libration tables to see when Libration is at a favorable point. I could be mistaken, but I dont see how Perigee or Apogee matters as it relates to the moon visually or photographically because the size difference is so small, but Libration is a biggie for lunar observers.