10/10/10 and Jupiter

Today is October 10, 2010, a date that can be written as 10/10/10. It also happens to be the time of another kind of alignment, with Jupiter about as close to Earth as it gets. If you look for a tiny full moon in the sky at night, especially late at night, that’s Jupiter. That is, you can see Jupiter rising around sunset, high in the sky around midnight, and setting around sunrise. Later this week, you’ll be able to see Jupiter near the full moon. This will mean that Sun, Earth, Moon, and Jupiter are momentarily forming nearly a straight line. Uranus is part of this line too, near Jupiter in the sky, though you may need the help of an astronomer to show you where it is.