Jupiter reached its closest approach to Earth in late August, what astronomers call opposition. This week the Jovian giant is just over 377 million miles away.

The king of the planets has joined the ringed wonder of our solar system in the early evening Butler sky. By far, Jupiter and Saturn are the brightest star-like objects in the southeastern sky this month and will continue their show well into autumn.

Jupiter reached its closest approach to Earth in late August, what astronomers call opposition. This week the Jovian giant is just over 377 million miles away.

Believe it or not, that's considered close for Jupiter. It takes a little over a half-hour for the light from Jupiter to reach the Earth this week. It's by far the largest planet in our solar system. It's so large that if Jupiter were a hollow sphere, you could fill it with about 1,200 Earths!As with all of our solar system's outer giants, Jupiter is a huge ball of hydrogen and helium gas, much like our sun, only a whole lot smaller!When you direct your telescope at Jupiter, you'll see at least some of its horizontal cloud bands on the enormous planet's disk. Even the smallest scopes, you usually see up two dark cloud bands running on either side of Jupiter's equator. But since Jupiter is so close this month, you'll probably see a lot more. You may even see some faint color in the bands.The clouds on Jupiter are mostly made up of ammonia and methane compounds. They swirl around Jupiter at speeds of 200 to 300 miles. There are many eddies and storms within them as well. The biggest is the famous Red Spot, about three times the diameter of Earth.Jupiter's atmosphere is so active because of its immense mass and its resultant huge gravitational force. That gravity literally puts the squeeze on Jupiter and compresses the giant gas ball. That compression produces a lot of internal heat that drives the energetic Jovian atmosphere. There's even lightning on Jupiter.Another mechanism for Jupiter's wild atmosphere is its rapid rotation. It spins on its axis in only 10 hours. That helps generate a huge magnetic field so much so that aurora are common around Jupiter's poles. The rapid spinning also causes Jupiter to appear slightly oval-ish. Strong centrifugal forces cause Jupiter to bulge out at its equator. Jupiter's equatorial diameter is over 88,000 miles while its polar diameter is only around 83,000 miles.When you're viewing Jupiter or anything else in your telescope, remember the general rule of thumb, higher is better. The higher in the heavens Jupiter is the better the chance you'll have to get a really clear look at it because your scope doesn't have to pierce through as much of earth's blurring atmosphere as it does when it's closer to the horizon.Another piece of advice that really helps is to start with a lower magnification eyepiece and work your way up to a higher magnification. You will reach a point of limiting higher magnification where the image will get too muddy. There's no sense in seeing a blurry Jupiter, so bump down to a lower magnification.Remember also that not all nights are the same for telescope viewing. Even if the skies are clear, high winds in Earth's atmosphere can affect the clarity of what you see and how much magnification you can use. If Jupiter doesn't come in too clear one night, try it again the next clear night.One other thing…it's always a good idea to look through your telescope at Jupiter or any other object for a continuous extended time. Try to keep your eye plugged into the eyepiece for at least 10 minutes at a time. That will give you more time to get used to the different light levels within the eyepiece and allow you to see more detail. You'll catch quieter pockets of air coming through now and then.Another attraction around Jupiter is its four largest moons that look like little stars in more or less a straight line on either side of the planet, depending on where they are in their respective orbits. Even the tiniest of scopes and binoculars can pick them up. I even know some people who can spot traces of them with the naked eye.See how much you can spot on Jupiter with a telescope!Celestial Happening this Week: On Thursday evening, the new crescent moon will be perched just to the upper right of the very bright planet in the very low western sky. Don't miss this celestial hugging!!Mike Lynch is an amateur astronomer and retired broadcast meteorologist for WCCO Radio in Minneapolis/St. Paul. He is the author of “Stars: a Month by Month Tour of the Constellations,” published by Adventure Publications and available at bookstores and adventurepublications.net. Contact him at mikewlynch@comcast.net.

The king of the planets has joined the ringed wonder of our solar system in the early evening Butler sky. By far, Jupiter and Saturn are the brightest star-like objects in the southeastern sky this month and will continue their show well into autumn.