| (Copyright) by Dwight Fleming (Oroville, California) |
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| Get ready for what we have all been waiting for. Yes, the King is coming! The King of planets, that is. Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system which makes it the king of planets. On September 26, it will be in opposition to the Earth which occurs about once every 13 months. Jupiter takes about eleven earth years to orbit the sun. The Earth takes 365 and one quarter days to orbit the sun. Since Jupiter is moving much slower in its orbit, the earth is able to catch up with Jupiter every 13 months. This year, opposition will occur on September 26th. However, this year something extra ordinary is on the menu. Since the Earth’s orbit and Jupiter’s orbit are both elliptical and not perfect circles, the distance between Earth and Jupiter will vary at each opposition. This year, Jupiter will come its closest to Earth since 1963. Some of you weren’t even born yet. Jupiter will be approximately 367 million miles away from Earth at opposition. This is similar to the distance in 1963. This means that Jupiter will appear larger than normal. Look for it in the eastern sky after sunset. You should be able to see it if the sky is clear. It will be the brightest star in the sky. You can find Jupiter shining brightly any time before or after September 26th when it rises above the horizon. Also, I find the timing of this year’s opposition especially interesting since it may have special meaning. September 26th, this year, marks the Feast of Trumpets. The Feast of Trumpets occurs on the 1st day of the seventh month of the Jewish Calendar. It marks the beginning of the New Year and is called “Rosh Hashanah” as you may have noticed on your Gregorian Calendar. For those who understand the symbolism of these special holy days, it pictures the return of Jesus Christ to establish His kingdom upon the earth and to fight against the armies of the Beast as depicted in Revelation 19 and 20. A trumpet was used anciently to sound a warning and to wake people up to give them time to prepare for what is coming. What is ahead for the next year? https://youtu.be/fEWhVIc_7W8 Jupiter = 1,300 Earths (2 minutes) |
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