Spectrum Scientifics Blog

Here’s hoping that Tropical Storm Hanna has made its way out of our area by Sunday, Sept. 7th because there is a great opportunity to see a double transit as the Galilean Moons cross in front of Jupiter. This is a great opportunity for urban astronomers as Jupiter is barely affected by light pollution.

Both the Galilean Satellites Io and Callisto will be transiting together for only 2 minutes, so this is pretty close to being a ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ event. The transit takes place on Sept. 8th, with the dual transit starting at 00:13:00 Universal time. For the East Coast that translates to Sept 7th at 8:13:00 PM (or 20:13:00 for the 24 hour clock). The Double Transit will end 2 minutes later. The double transit will not be easily visible for the rest of the USA as the sun will not have set for them.

Jupiter appears in the southern sky after sunset and should be easily visible even with city light pollution. It should be the brightest thing besides the Moon. Use as high power as your telescope and the viewing conditions can handle. Have fun and happy Galilean moon hunting!

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Filed under: Astronomy, Urban Astronomy