Go Back
  • For Business
  • |
  • Warnings
  • Data Suite
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising
  • Superior Accuracy™
Tropical trouble could stir near Southeast beaches around 4th of July. Get details Chevron right
Severe storms, flash flooding to bring July Fourth holiday travel hassles. Get details Chevron right

Columbus, OH

71°F
Location Chevron down
Location News Videos
Use Current Location
Recent

Columbus

Ohio

71°
No results found.
Try searching for a city, zip code or point of interest.
settings
Columbus, OH Weather
Today WinterCast Local {stormName} Tracker Hourly Daily Radar MinuteCast Monthly Air Quality Health & Activities

Around the Globe

Hurricane Tracker

Severe Weather

Radar & Maps

News

News & Features

Astronomy

Business

Climate

Health

Recreation

Sports

Travel

For Business

Warnings

Data Suite

Newsletters

Advertising

Superior Accuracy™

Video

Winter Center

AccuWeather Early Hurricane Center Top Stories Trending Today Astronomy Heat Climate Health Recreation In Memoriam Case Studies Blogs & Webinars

News / Astronomy

Clear skies to greet most stargazers for upcoming Jupiter opposition

By Brian Lada, AccuWeather meteorologist and senior content editor

Published Jul 10, 2020 6:15 PM EDT

Copied

The biggest planet in the solar system will make its closest approach to Earth on Monday night, giving stargazers of all ages something to spot after the sun sets.

Comet NEOWISE has stolen the spotlight recently and will start to appear in the evening sky by midweek, but stargazers may also want to step outside on Monday night into Tuesday morning to look for Jupiter.

“On Tuesday morning, July 14, 2020, the planet Jupiter will appear opposite the Sun as seen from the Earth (called "opposition”),” NASA said.

When a planet is at opposition, it is the best time to look for it in the night sky. This is the point in its orbit when it's closest to the Earth, making it appear brighter than other times of the year.

Jupiter will be visible all night long, rising in the southeast around sunset and remaining above the horizon until sunrise when it sets in the southwest. The best time to look for the planet is between midnight and 2 a.m. (local time) when it is at its highest point in the sky, as long as Mother Nature cooperates.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP

Many people across the U.S. will have mainly clear conditions on Monday night for uninterrupted views of Jupiter. This includes cities such as Baltimore, Atlanta, New Orleans, Salt Lake City and San Francisco where the planet will easily be visible despite light pollution.

Some clouds are in the forecast for the southern Plains, but there should be enough breaks in the clouds for folks from St. Louis through Oklahoma City to be able to catch occasional glimpses of the planet.

Unfortunately for those in New England, Quebec and the western Great Lakes, thick clouds and rain will blanket the sky on Monday night.

If cloudy conditions obscure the sky on the night of the Jupiter opposition, stargazers will still have plenty of opportunities to spot the planet. Although Jupiter reaches peak brightness on the night of opposition, it will still look to be just about as bright through the rest of July.

Folks will continue to see Jupiter in the evening sky throughout the rest of 2020, but it will gradually appear dimmer and dimmer heading into autumn and early winter as it moves farther away from the Earth.

Related:

Comet whizzing by Earth for 1st time in 6,800 years is visible to the naked eye
3 tips for stargazing without a telescope
How light pollution dimmed the stars, Milky Way across the globe

The Jupiter opposition may not be a dramatic astronomical event, but it is the best time of the year to observe the planet, presenting new telescope owners with the perfect opportunity to see an interesting object that is easy to find. Most binoculars can also show some extra details that the naked eye can’t see.

“With an inexpensive pair of binoculars, it's quite easy to spy Jupiter's four largest moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto,” NASA explained. “These four moons are often referred to as the Galilean moons as they were first observed using a telescope by astronomer Galileo Galilei in 1610.”

A bigger telescope with more magnification power can reveal a few more features of Jupiter, including the planet’s weather. Jupiter has bands of red clouds that circle the planet and the Great Red Spot, the biggest storm in the solar system.

Jupiter and Saturn oppositions 2020
Twitter

Once folks identify Jupiter, they should also look off to the left of the planet to spot Saturn, the second-largest planet in the solar system.

Saturn, while not as bright, will be easy to spot as it will be next to Jupiter throughout the entire night. The ringed planet will be reaching opposition about one week after Jupiter on Monday, July 20.

Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.

Report a Typo
Comments that don't add to the conversation may be automatically or manually removed by Facebook or AccuWeather. Profanity, personal attacks, and spam will not be tolerated.
Comments
Hide Comments

Weather News

Recreation

Boulders narrowly miss swimmers at popular Utah waterfall

Jun. 27, 2025
Weather Forecasts

July 4 Forecast: Thunderstorms to focus over Upper Midwest and Florida

Jul. 1, 2025
Weather News

Girl, 8, rescued after 7 hours in flooded sewer in China

Jun. 27, 2025
Show more Show less Chevron down

Topics

AccuWeather Early

Hurricane Center

Top Stories

Trending Today

Astronomy

Heat

Climate

Health

Recreation

In Memoriam

Case Studies

Blogs & Webinars

Top Stories

Severe Weather

Severe storms, flash flooding to bring July 4 holiday travel hassles

7 hours ago

Weather News

Storm chaser stages whirlwind proposal with real tornado

9 hours ago

Weather News

Tropical trouble could stir near Southeast beaches around 4th of July

7 hours ago

Astronomy

July offers rare meteor shower combo, stunning views of the Milky Way

5 days ago

Weather News

Flights cancelled as Atlanta airport recovers from severe weather

2 days ago

More Stories

Featured Stories

Travel

Fourth of July gas hasn’t been this cheap since 2021

10 hours ago

Recreation

Two people rescued after going overboard on Disney cruise ship

11 hours ago

Weather News

Fossil reveals ‘Last of Us’-type fungus likely lived with dinosaurs

6 days ago

Health

'Inverse' vaccines may hold key to challenge autoimmune diseases

1 day ago

Weather News

World’s most liveable city for 2025 revealed

1 week ago

AccuWeather Astronomy Clear skies to greet most stargazers for upcoming Jupiter opposition
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
© 2025 AccuWeather, Inc. "AccuWeather" and sun design are registered trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | About Your Privacy Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

...

...

...