Jupiter Shining Through the Branches

Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth of that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in the Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Together, these four planets are sometimes referred to as the Jovian or outer planets. The planet was known by astronomers of ancient times, and was associated with the mythology and religious beliefs of many cultures. The Romans named the planet after the Roman god Jupiter. When viewed from Earth, Jupiter can reach an apparent magnitude of −2.94, bright enough to cast shadows, and making it on average the third-brightest object in the night sky after the Moon and Venus. (Mars can briefly match Jupiter's brightness at certain points in its orbit.)

Jupiter is primarily composed of hydrogen with a quarter of its mass being helium, although helium only comprises about a tenth of the number of molecules. It may also have a rocky core of heavier elements, but like the other gas giants, Jupiter lacks a well-defined solid surface. Because of its rapid rotation, the planet's shape is that of an oblate spheroid (it possesses a slight but noticeable bulge around the equator). The outer atmosphere is visibly segregated into several bands at different latitudes, resulting in turbulence and storms along their interacting boundaries. A prominent result is the Great Red Spot, a giant storm that is known to have existed since at least the 17th century when it was first seen by telescope. Surrounding Jupiter is a faint planetary ring system and a powerful magnetosphere. There are also at least 67 moons, including the four large moons called the Galilean moons that were first discovered by Galileo Galilei in 1610. Ganymede, the largest of these moons, has a diameter greater than that of the planet Mercury.

Jupiter has been explored on several occasions by robotic spacecraft, most notably during the early Pioneer and Voyager flyby missions and later by the Galileo orbiter. The most recent probe to visit Jupiter was the Pluto-bound New Horizons spacecraft in late February 2007. The probe used the gravity from Jupiter to increase its speed. Future targets for exploration in the Jovian system include the possible ice-covered liquid ocean on the moon Europa.

When the planet Jupiter reached opposition and dominated the evening planetary action. Jupiter also reached a maximum brightness of magnitude -2.7 at opposition in 2014 and presents a disk 46.8” arc seconds wide.

January 2014 was a good time to see Jupiter. When Earth goes between Jupiter and the sun – as we did on January 5, 2014 – astronomers say that Jupiter is in opposition to the sun. At such times, Jupiter appears opposite the sun in our sky, rising in the east at sunset. It comes up at the sun goes down – appears highest in the sky at midnight, when the sun is below your feet – and shines in the west in the hours before dawn. When the planet Jupiter reached opposition and dominated the evening planetary action. Jupiter also reached a maximum brightness of magnitude -2.7 at opposition in 2014 and presents a disk 46.8” arc seconds wide.

The 2014 opposition was Jupiter’s closest until 2020. It shines more brightly than any star in the evening sky. It blazes away in front of the constellation Gemini, near the bright Gemini stars, Castor and Pollux.

Why was Jupiter relatively close at this opposition? Jupiter’s orbit, like Earth’s orbit, isn’t round. It’s very nearly round, but not perfectly so. Jupiter passed its perihelion – or closest point to the sun – in March 2011. Since then, the giant planet has been getting farther from the sun in its 12-year orbit, and it will continue to get farther from the sun each year until its aphelion – or farthest point from the sun – in 2017. In the coming years, Jupiter will be moving farther from the sun in its orbit, and so it’ll be progressively farther from Earth at each year’s opposition.

The surrounding stars are in the constellation of Gemini Gemini is one of the constellations of the zodiac. It was one of the 48 constellations described by the 2nd century AD astronomer Ptolemy and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations today. Its name is Latin for "twins," and it is associated with the twins Castor and Pollux in Greek mythology.

The constellation contains 85 stars visible to observation on Earth without a telescope. The brightest star in Gemini is Pollux, and the second brightest is Castor.

These trees are in Hatch Warren Park. Not to be confused with Beggarwood Park in Hatch Warren, this park is in Brighton Hill but takes its name from the adjacent Hatch Warren Lane that runs along the north-west side. Hatch Warren Park is an informal park with a children’s play area and is ideal for walking, informal exercise and play. Brighton Hill was supplied with plentiful green spaces and open areas. There is a lot of land used as playing fields in the area. An adventure playground exists in this large green area near the M3 motorway, at the southern end of Hatchwarren Lane. Many playgrounds were provided in residential areas, but most have been removed amid safety fears.

Brighton Hill is a district of Basingstoke, England, that was formed around 1970 as part of the Town Centre Development Plan. The area is bounded to the west by the newer housing estate of Hatch Warren and by the A30. To the east of Brighton Hill, the Viables Industrial Estate and Cranbourne area. The area to the east is a lot older than Brighton Hill itself. The M3 motorway runs in a straight line to the south-east of the area, directly next to the southern-eastern edge of Brighton Hill, which sometimes is referred to as Old Hatchwarren.

The earliest mention of the Brighton Hill name found so far was on a map dated 1877. However, this seems to relate to a cottage or some other building, situated just over halfway between Hatch Warren Farm (at the rear of the 'Portsmouth Arms' public house) and where the then Hatch Warren Lane and Winchester Road (now the A30) joined at a crossroads.

The place marked as Brighton Hill on the 1877 map would roughly at the rear of Hatchwarren School, at the junction between the footpaths. As the map shows, one such footpath was the original Hatch Warren Lane in the area, the other links Brighton Hill with Hatch Warren.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter

www.universetoday.com/107415/tis-the-season-to-spot-jupit...

earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/best-time-to-see-jupite...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemini_%28constellation%29

www.basingstoke.gov.uk/browse/leisure-and-culture/parks-a...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brighton_Hill

Taken in: United Kingdom / England / Basingstoke (show map)

Taken on: January 17, 2014

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Camera: Nikon D3100, f/3.5, 30 sec, 18mm (=27mm), ISO 400 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D3100
Aperture:	f/3.5
Exposure Time:	30
Focal Length:	18mm (35mm equivalent: 27mm)
ISO:	400
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Gain Control:	Low gain up
Color Space:	sRGB
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