Planet

Jupiter

Also known as MUSHTARI · BRIHASPATI · ZEUS · KING OF PLANETS

King of planets, with storms older than civilisations.

Largest planet in the Solar System — a gas giant with 95 moons and the famous Great Red Spot.

Appearance

A brilliant cream-coloured star, outshining everything but Venus.

Observing

Binoculars show the four Galilean moons (Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto). A telescope reveals cloud bands and the Great Red Spot.

Best viewing

Visible most of the year

Observing from Chitral

The single best beginner target from Chitral. Any pair of binoculars braced against a wall shows the four Galilean moons as a line of sparks, and their positions visibly change within a couple of hours. A 90 mm telescope shows the two main cloud belts; on a steady night at one of the high sites the Great Red Spot is within reach.

History & culture

Galileo's January 1610 observations of four points of light shuttling around Jupiter proved that not everything orbits the Earth — arguably the single most consequential telescopic observation ever made.