Jupiter
Jupiter is currently in the constellation of Capricornus. The current Right Ascension of Jupiter is 20h 39m 25s and the Declination is -18° 56’ 13” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current magnitude of Jupiter is -1.95 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Jupiter [tip: you can also create a Quick Access page for this data if you access it frequently and would like to have a simpler view]:
- Jupiter is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the South-West direction at an altitude of 9° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, Jupiter is visible to the naked eye, easyly even from highly light polluted areas.
- See also Jupiter rise and set times.
- Go to interactive sky chart
If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple customized Quick Access page, so that you can easily bookmark it in your browser favorites or add a shortcut to your mobile phones' home screen.
Additional information about Jupiter available on TheSkyLive:
Jupiter Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Jupiter finder charts showing where the object is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars. The first finder chart has a field of view of 50 degrees, while the second one has a field of view of 10 degrees. Click on each finder chart to access a full screen interactive Online Planetarium.
Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Jupiter is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Jupiter?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Jupiter in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Jupiter Distance from Earth
The distance of Jupiter from Earth is currently 907,592,252 kilometers, equivalent to 6.066879 Astronomical Units. Light takes 50 minutes and 27.4019 seconds to travel from Jupiter and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Jupiter from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with an interval of 1 day.
The value of the reported distance might be somewhat inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of Jupiter from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Jupiter to Earth
Between January 1900 and January 2100, the closest approach of Jupiter to Earth happens on Tue Oct 2 1951 at a distance of 3.948724 Astronomical Units, or 590,720,632 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Jupiter brightness
The current visual magnitude of Jupiter is -1.95.
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Jupiter, according to the most recent ephemerides data. Magnitude data is sampled with a 2 days interval and there might be inaccuracies for objects changing brightness very rapidly during the course of a few days. For comets there could be large discrepancies between the observed and predicted brightness because of their highly dynamic behaviour.
Jupiter rise and set times
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London
Today's Jupiter rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
The rise and set times are defined as the time at which the upper limb of Jupiter touches the horizon, considering the effect of the atmospheric refraction. As the atmospheric conditions cannot be modeled precisely the times reported here should be considered correct with an approximation of few minutes.
Jupiter Physical Data
The following shows the known values of the most important physical parameters of Jupiter. Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Physical Parameter | Value | Relative to Earth |
|---|---|---|
| Diameter | 139822 km | 10.9733 |
| Mass | 1898.13 x 1024 kg | 317.8281 |
| Density | 1.3262 gr/cm3 | 0.2405 |
| Escape Velocity | 60.2 km/s | 5.3798 |
| Sideral Rotation | 9.9250 hours | 0.4147 |
| Absolute Magnitude | -9.4 | |
| Geometric Albedo | 0.52 |
Jupiter 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Jupiter computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Jupiter in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Apparent DiameterDiameter | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 Jan 14 | 20h 32m 00s | -19° 22’ 42” | -1.95 | 31.9” | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 15 | 20h 32m 58s | -19° 19’ 18” | -1.95 | 31.8” | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 16 | 20h 33m 56s | -19° 15’ 55” | -1.95 | 31.8” | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 17 | 20h 34m 54s | -19° 12’ 28” | -1.95 | 31.8” | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 18 | 20h 35m 53s | -19° 09’ 01” | -1.95 | 31.8” | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 19 | 20h 36m 51s | -19° 05’ 31” | -1.95 | 31.8” | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 20 | 20h 37m 50s | -19° 02’ 02” | -1.95 | 31.8” | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 21 | 20h 38m 48s | -18° 58’ 30” | -1.95 | 31.8” | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 22 | 20h 39m 46s | -18° 54’ 57” | -1.95 | 31.8” | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 23 | 20h 40m 44s | -18° 51’ 24” | -1.95 | 31.8” | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 24 | 20h 41m 42s | -18° 47’ 48” | -1.95 | 31.8” | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 25 | 20h 42m 41s | -18° 44’ 12” | -1.95 | 31.8” | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 26 | 20h 43m 38s | -18° 40’ 36” | -1.95 | 31.8” | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 27 | 20h 44m 36s | -18° 36’ 56” | -1.95 | 31.8” | Capricornus |