Jupiter Making Closest Approach to Earth in Nearly 50 Years

Marcia Dunn
The Associated Press
Fri, 17 Sep 2010 13:14 UTC

© Getty Images

Better catch Jupiter next week in the night sky. It won't be that big or bright again until 2022.

Jupiter will pass 368 million miles from Earth late Monday, its closest approach since 1963.

You can see it low in the east around dusk. Around midnight, it will be directly overhead. That's because Earth will be passing between Jupiter and the sun, into the wee hours of Tuesday.

The solar system's largest planet already appears as an incredibly bright star. The only thing brighter in the night sky right now is our moon.

.