2026年1月2日晚上的木星和木星的“月亮”

2026年1月2日晚上的木星和木星的“月亮”

Jupiter and Its Moons on January 2, 2026

 

Camera: Nikon P1000

 

I took this video on 1/2/2026.

I asked Gemini:

"This was the star I took the night of 1/2/2026, which was below the full moon and since the moon was so bright, it seemed this was the only star in the sky, which star is this?

 

Gemini answered:

Based on the date and the position you described, the bright "star" you saw below the full moon on the night of January 2, 2026, was actually the planet Jupiter.

 

Jupiter is currently the brightest starlike object in the sky (other than the moon itself). Because the moon was so bright that night—being the Full Wolf Supermoon—it washed out almost all the dimmer actual stars, leaving only the most brilliant objects visible.

 

Why it was so bright:

 

Opposition: Jupiter is approaching "opposition" (which occurs on January 10, 2026), meaning Earth is directly between the Sun and Jupiter. This makes the planet appear at its biggest and brightest for the entire year.

 

Proximity: On the night of January 2, Jupiter was positioned roughly $15^{circ}$ to the lower right of the moon. As the night progressed and moved into the early morning of January 3, the moon and Jupiter appeared to move even closer together.

Location: Both were located in the constellation Gemini, near the bright stars Castor and Pollux, though those stars likely looked much fainter than Jupiter due to the moonlight.

 

Quick Sky Guide for January 2, 2026

 

Object Type Appearance

The Moon Satellite Full "Wolf" Supermoon; extremely bright.

Jupiter Planet Brilliant, steady white light; did not "twinkle" like a star.

Saturn Planet Visible much lower in the southwest earlier in the evening.

Sirius Star The brightest actual star, located further south/lower than Jupiter.

 

If you have a pair of binoculars, you might still be able to catch a glimpse of Jupiter's four largest moons (Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto) looking like tiny pinpricks of light in a straight line next to the planet!

 

I then asked Gemini:

My pictures has several small spots around the jupiter, can you tell me if these are the moons of the jupiter?

 

Gemini answered:

Yes, it is very likely that the small spots you see around Jupiter in your photos are indeed its Galilean moons.

 

Because Jupiter is currently very close to its opposition (the point where it is closest to Earth), it is at its maximum brightness and size for the year. This makes its four largest moons—Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto—bright enough to be captured even by many modern smartphone cameras, provided the phone is held steady or mounted on a tripod.

 

Why they appear as "spots": The Galilean Moons: These four moons are almost as large as planets themselves (Ganymede is actually larger than Mercury).

 

Alignment: They almost always appear in a relatively straight line flanking the planet. This is because they orbit around Jupiter’s equator, which we see nearly edge-on from Earth.

 

Visibility: While they look like tiny "stars" or spots to us, they are actually quite bright. On January 2, 2026, most of them were spread out on either side of the planet.

 

Moon Positions on the Night of January 2, 2026 If you look closely at your photo, you can try to identify them based on their typical arrangement that night:

 

West (One Side): Usually, Callisto sits further out by itself.

 

East (Other Side): Io, Europa, and Ganymede are often clustered or spread in a line on the opposite side.

 

Tips for confirming:

Check the "Line": If the spots form a perfectly straight diagonal or horizontal line passing through the center of Jupiter, they are almost certainly the moons.

 

Compare Photos: If you took multiple photos a few hours apart, you might notice the spots have shifted slightly. These moons move surprisingly fast; Io, for example, completes a full orbit around Jupiter in less than two days!

 

Lens Flare vs. Moons: If the spots are perfectly symmetrical "ghost" images of the bright Moon or Jupiter (usually appearing on the opposite side of the frame), they might be lens flares. However, if they are tiny, sharp points right next to Jupiter, they are the moons.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iC_Uuq5Jl_A