Jupiter`s Opposition: Gear up to watch the brightest view of the planet tonight

New Delhi: Jupiter, the giant planet will make its closest approach to the Earth on Friday night, Feb 6.

The phenomenon is called Jupiter’s Opposition, a celestial event when the planet Jupiter would be opposite to Sun from the perspective of Earth.

As Jupiter moves closest to the Earth, it will appear as the brightest star in the sky tonight and those in the east coast of India from Kolkata to Viskhapatnam will have a brighter chance of viewing the celestial event.

Due to change in location of planets, the phenomenon Sun-Earth-Jupiter in opposite directions can be seen as the sun sets west and Jupiter rises in the east.

According to the Planetary Society of India, skywatchers can see the planet at its brightest with naked eyes in the evening till February 23.

For morning walkers, the planet can also be seen with naked eyes just before the sunrise.

However, using binoculars or a telescope will give better visibility.

Although the planet will still be 404 million miles from Earth, Friday night's celestial event marks Jupiter’s closest opposition until 2019.

Jupiter, which is the largest in our solar system, has been studied by five spacecraft over the last 25 years.

NASA's Juno probe, which will be the sixth to survey Jupiter, is scheduled to enter orbit around the planet in 2016.