Jupiter closest to Earth in 59 years

California, The Gulf Observer: Today, Jupiter will be at its closest point to Earth in 59 years, as it will be 367 million miles away from Earth, which is almost the same distance it was in 1963 and its farthest point from Earth will be about 600 million miles away.

It’s all due to a serendipitous combination of what’s known as opposition and the perfect perihelion. Read on.

Every twelve Earth years, give or take, Jupiter‘s distance from the Sun shrinks to a mere 740 million kilometers (about 460 million miles), giving those of us in the uptown part of the Solar System a prime view of the massive outer suburb planet as it looms larger than usual in the evening sky.

Usually, the added shine Jupiter receives at its closest approach to the Sun isn’t a big deal for those of us viewing from here on Earth. We are on our own orbital path, so we’re not always in the same vicinity.