المملكة: Jeddah Astronomy: Jupiter ends its retrograde movement and returns to its path among the stars

Head explained Jeddah Astronomical Society Engineer Majed Abu Zahra said Jupiter Today, Wednesday, March 11, 2026, it will reach the end of its retrograde movement, as it will appear as if it is moving toward the east in front of the stars in the sky, after it had appeared during the past months as if it was apparently moving toward the west.

He explained that what is known as the retrograde movement of the planets is an apparent phenomenon and not a real movement of the planet itself, as it arises as a result of the difference in the orbital speeds of the planets around the sun. The Earth moves in its orbit more quickly than the outer planets such as Jupiter, and when the Earth catches up with Jupiter during its rotation around the sun and precedes it in orbit, it appears from the perspective of the observer on Earth as if the planet is moving in the opposite direction to its usual direction for a temporary period in front of the background stars.

Natural phenomenon

Abu Zahra pointed out that Jupiter’s retrograde movement began on November 11, 2025 and continued until today, and during this period the planet seemed to be moving west relative to the stars, which is a natural phenomenon that occurs. The outer planets are the result of the relative movement between the Earth and those planets in their orbits around the sun.

He added that Jupiter had reached opposition with the sun on January 10, 2026, which is the stage in which the planet is in the best position for observation, as it rises with The sun sets almost and remains visible throughout the night, as it is in one of its relatively closest positions to the Earth according to astronomical standards.

Observing the planet Jupiter

He explained that observing the planet Jupiter will be possible this evening, shortly after sunset, as it will appear as a very bright object in the sky and can be easily seen with the naked eye. With the onset of darkness, the planet will rise further in the southern sky and remain visible for several hours during the night before it later heads towards the western horizon.

He pointed out that Jupiter is one of the brightest objects in the night sky, which makes it easy to distinguish as a fixed bright point that does not flash like stars, indicating that using binoculars or a small telescope it is possible to see some of its prominent details, in addition to its large moons that orbit around it.

Movement Regular

He stated that the end of the retrograde movement today means that Jupiter will resume its normal movement towards the east in front of the stars, while it will gradually begin to approach the position of the sun in the sky during the coming months, which indicates that the ideal observation period that was around the time of opposition has begun to gradually recede.

Abu Zahra stressed that following the movement of the planets and the changes in their positions among the stars is one of the interesting phenomena in astronomical observation, as stated above. A clear example of the dynamics of the movement of objects in the solar system, and it helps to understand how the planets move in their orbits around the sun.

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