At 1.05pm tomorrow, Jupiter will be at opposition. The planet, the earth and the sun will form a straight line with the earth in the middle.

The next night, Jupiter will be fully illuminated by the sun and appear even brighter than normal. It is the second brightest planet after Venus.

The opposition of Jupiter occurs roughly every 399 days. Jupiter and the great red spot on its surface can be seen a few weeks before and after the planet's opposition.

It will also be a good time to observe Jupiter's four largest satellites, namely Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. A telescope with a magnification of at least 40 times is recommended to observe Jupiter.

Tracking the planet's path

Details of the times of rising, transiting and setting of Jupiter from tomorrow night to Friday morning are as follows:

Rise of Jupiter: in the east-northeast at 6.21pm tomorrow;

Transit of Jupiter: elevation around 75 degrees due south at 12.35am on Friday night;

Setting of Jupiter: in the west-northwest at 6.49am on Friday.

Please refer to the Hong Kong Observatory homepage for details.