Regulus, the brightest star in Leo the Lion, will be easy to find as it will be within a degree of the moon to the north tonight, April 6. The moon comes close to Regulus on its monthly journey around the sky and even occasionally occults (covers) Regulus.
By 8:30 p.m., Jupiter is 21 degrees above the horizon and 7 degrees above Spica, the brightest star in Virgo. Jupiter is also only 30 degrees south of Arcturus, the fourth-brightest star in the sky.
Friday night, Jupiter is at opposition. That means Jupiter is on the opposite side of the Earth from the sun . Jupiter is at its closest approach to the Earth and its face will be fully illuminated by the sun, making it a great object in a small telescope.
Jupiter will be brighter than at any other time this year and is visible all night long. Through a small telescope, Jupiter easily shows its four bright Galilean moons (Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto) originally discovered by Galileo.
Jupiter’s largest cloud bands are also visible with a small telescope. A good pair of binoculars firmly mounted on a tripod will show Jupiter’s moons. Jupiter is the fourth-brightest object in the sky after the sun, the moon and Venus. It always puts on a good show.
