The giant planet “Jupiter” will be passing backwards of sun at 9:02pm on Thursday and this phenomenon is called as “superior conjunction” of Jupiter with sun, as per the information provided by Qatar Calendar House (QCH).
During superior conjunction, Jupiter will be passing very close to sun. The planet will be at the nearest point from sun and farthest point from Earth during this time, said astronomer expert Dr. Beshir Marzouk.
Superior conjunction of Jupiter occurs when it comes opposite of the sun as seen from the Earth. Moreover, the centre of Sun, Jupiter, and Earth will be on straight line; where sun will be in between Jupiter and Earth.
Superior conjunction of Jupiter is important astronomical phenomenon because it is an indicator to Jupiter transition from an evening sky (Western horizon) to the dawn sky (eastern horizon); where it will be seen next few weeks before sunrise.
As known, there are two types of conjunction for solar system planets, superior and inferior conjunctions. Superior conjunction occurs for all solar system planets, while inferior conjunction occurs only for two planets; Mercury and Venus, because their orbits around the sun are inside Earth’s orbit.
Jupiter is the fifth planet far from sun, and largest planet in our solar system. Moreover, it’s surrounded by more than 69 moons.
