A brilliant start to the new year for planetary observers. Today, Jupiter reached opposition, meaning it is directly opposite the Sun in our sky. Consequently, it is fully illuminated, visible all night long, and at its absolute brightest and largest for the entire year.

Even from light-polluted areas, the gas giant is an unmistakable, brilliant beacon dominating the constellation of Gemini.

Thanks to a friend, I managed top sneak in some observing early this evening, which I have not been able to do in a long time, and the atmospheric seeing was wonderfully steady.

The equatorial bands were sharply defined, and watching the intricate dance of the Galilean moons—Callisto and its tiny, ink-black shadow transiting the colossal disc—is a mesmerising reminder of the clockwork precision of our solar system.