Ynys Môn (Anglesey): The wolf moon is spectacular enough, but look east and you’ll see a celestial titan the size of a pinprick
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s unmissable as new year’s fireworks, the wolf moon held the heavens for the first few nights of January, casting an unearthly radiance over everything, night almost as bright as day. Now, as that moon wanes, prepare to be wowed by a true planetary A-lister: Jupiter.
Named after the king of the sky gods in Roman mythology, Jupiter rises each evening in the east, unmatched by any star save Sirius. Tonight, however, it will be at its biggest and brightest, having reached “opposition”, meaning we on Earth are directly between Jupiter and the sun. If you have never tried “star” gazing before, tonight’s the night to start.
Jupiter is truly a celestial titan. It is equal in volume to 1,300 Earths, with an atmosphere 1,000km thick, below which lies a sea of liquid hydrogen, 20,000km deep. It rotates much faster than Earth, a Jovian day lasting under 10 hours. Such motion fuels immense turbulence in its atmosphere, with wind speeds of almost 1,450km/h producing distinct colour-banding and vast, long-lasting storms such as the great red spot, which is three times the diameter of Earth and visible through binoculars.
