Moon and Jupiter

A stunning image of bright Jupiter next to the slender, waning crescent Moon, as it slid through the night.   Credit Cristian Fattinnanzi

This close encounter of Jupiter with its moons and our Moon, occurred in 2012 July 15, 2012, predawn skies.

Clouds threaten in this telescopic view from Montecassiano, Italy, but the frame still captures Jupiter after it emerged from the occultation along with all four of its large Galilean moons. The sunlit crescent is overexposed with the Moon’s night side faintly illuminated by Earthshine. Lined up left to right beyond the dark lunar limb are Callisto, Ganymede, Jupiter, Io, and Europa.

In fact, Callisto, Ganymede, and Io are larger than Earth’s Moon, while Europa is only slightly smaller. Last week, NASA’s Juno became the second spacecraft ever to orbit Jupiter.

source APOD