ByJamie Carter,
Senior Contributor.
Skywatchers looking east a couple of hours after dark this month from the Northern Hemisphere will see a very bright point of light dominating the night sky. It’s Jupiter, which will come to its bright opposition early in January. Rising slightly earlier each night, by the end of December it will invite comparisons to the “Christmas Star” of “Star of Bethlehem” from the story of the Nativity.
Jupiter is in the constellation Gemini, shining brightly at magnitude -2.6, about as bright as it can ever get, and clearly brighter than any star in the night sky.
The giant planet rises in the east-northeast around 8 p.m. local time across North America and dominates the eastern, then high southeast night sky, according to Sky & Telescope. By 9 p.m. it will be easy to see.
