It's Jupiter season! Everything to know about the king of the solar system

Jupiter is by far the largest planet in our solar system. The huge ball of hydrogen and helium circling the sun is about 88,000 miles wide, meaning more than 1,300 Earths could fit inside it. Astronomers are using ground-based telescopes, space telescopes and robotic orbiters to learn more about this giant world. And this is Jupiter season: when you can observe the massive planet yourself every night.

Jupiter is king

Jupiter’s most distinctive feature is the Great Red Spot, a powerful cyclone rotating counterclockwise at over 200 miles per hour. This storm dwarfs any Category 5 hurricane on Earth since it is more than twice the size of our entire planet.

The Great Red Spot has been blowing for almost 150 years. However, the weather on Jupiter is ever-changing. The Great Red Spot has been shrinking in the last decade and may soon fade or disappear altogether.

A day on Jupiter is about 10 hours – the time it takes for the planet to spin one time. This is incredibly rapid for a planet so large and helps funnel material into dark and light, horizontal stripes of gas above its surface.

As of 2023, astronomers have discovered 95 moons circling Jupiter. Most of these moons are very small and were found in the last few decades by new telescopes and passing spacecraft. However, the four largest moons – Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto – have been observed since 1610 and can be seen in backyard telescopes.

James Webb sees Jupiter

One million miles from Earth, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) trained its cameras on Jupiter and revealed the giant planet in amazing detail. JWST looks at the universe in infrared light, a wavelength not visible to the human eye, to uncover hidden details in space objects – which explains the unique colors chosen for images of Jupiter.

JWST captured Jupiter’s churning atmosphere, auroras at the north and south poles, its slim ring system and several tiny moons. Last month, astronomers revealed a discovery of a rapid-moving jet stream of material traveling along one of the major stripes of Jupiter. Winds in this area were clocked at 320 miles an hour.

Juno at Jupiter

NASA’s Juno spacecraft has been circling Jupiter since July 2016. Its mission is to repeatedly skim just above the atmosphere and explore the composition and magnetic field of Jupiter. The robotic craft’s cameras have sent back stunning images of the swirling cloudtops and violent storms raging across the massive planet’s surface.

Juno has completed 57 flybys of Jupiter and its fascinating moons. The last flyby on Dec. 30 took Juno to within 1,000 miles of the surface of Io, Jupiter’s volcanic moon. Io has so many regularly erupting volcanoes that it is literally turning itself inside out. This was the closest view astronomers have gotten since the Galileo spacecraft flew by Io in 2001. After more than 20 years of intense geologic activity, the tiny moon may have new volcanoes or even entire mountain ranges to explore.

Find Jupiter tonight

If you look high in the southeastern sky after dark, you cannot miss Jupiter. Right now, it is brighter than any other star-like object in the evening sky and gives off a steady cream-colored glow.

With the aid of binoculars, you can make out the disc of the planet. With a small telescope, you can observe the cloud bands across Jupiter’s surface and its four largest moons. And with a large telescope, you can see its most powerful and distinctive feature: The Great Red Spot. Look for it every evening from now until April.

Dean Regas is an astronomer and author of six books including "1000 Facts About Space" and "How to Teach Grown-Ups About Pluto" and host of the popular astronomy podcast Looking Up with Dean Regas. He can be reached at www.astrodean.com.

Online Astronomy Classes

What: Explore the moon, stars and planets from your home with astronomer Dean Regas. Learn more about the entire universe, get tips on stargazing and be prepared for the greatest astronomical events of the year.

When: Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. and on demand.

Tickets: $10-20 per household.

Information: You can join the Jan. 10 class online or watch the recorded classes like the Winter Sky at your convenience. astrodean.com/shop.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: It's Jupiter season! Key facts about the king of the solar system