Earth is about to catch up to Jupiter, the solar system’s largest planet. We’ll pass between Jupiter and the Sun on Saturday. As a result, Jupiter is putting on its best performance of the year. It’s in view shortly after sunset and stays in view all night. Jupiter is brightest for the year as well.

Jupiter is the fifth planet out from the Sun – about five times farther from the Sun than Earth is. At that distance, it takes almost 12 years for the planet to complete a single turn around the Sun.

Since Earth is much closer to the Sun, it zips past Jupiter every 13 months. Jupiter lines up opposite the Sun during those passages – a point called “opposition.” That’s when the two planets are closest. This week, Jupiter will be just 380 million miles away.

The combination of that proximity and the good viewing angle means that Jupiter is brightest at opposition. It’s almost always the third-brightest object in the night sky – only the Moon and the planet Venus regularly outshine it. But it’s especially bright right now – it looks like a brilliant star, shining all night long.

Look for Jupiter low in the east-northeast at nightfall. It’s between the horns of Taurus. The bull’s bright orange eye, the star Aldebaran, glows to the upper right of Jupiter. The planet climbs high across the sky during the night, and is in the west at dawn, with Aldebaran below it.

We’ll have more about Jupiter during the week.

Script by Damond Benningfield