Overview
- NASA says the giant planet reaches opposition on January 10, marking its maximum apparent size and brightness of 2026.
- Jupiter will be visible all night, rising in the east around sunset and setting near sunrise.
- It appears in Gemini and will form a noticeable triangle with the stars Castor and Pollux.
- Only the Moon and Venus will outshine it, and to the naked eye it will look brighter than any star as a steady, non‑twinkling point.
- Binoculars or a small telescope can reveal its cloud bands and the four Galilean moons, and experts note opposition may not coincide exactly with the closest approach, reported at roughly 633 million kilometres.