Jupiter: If you’re up until the wee hours, you can observe Jupiter by April: between July and September it’s well placed at the end of twilight. Jupiter is at opposition on June 10, when it rises at sunset and by midnight it’s near the meridian (due south, if you live in the northern hemisphere). Unfortunately for northern hemisphere observers, this year it’s low in the southern part of the ecliptic, in Ophiuchus – near Scorpius. That makes the sky less steady and surface features harder to see.

This year, we’re looking from a bit south of the plane of Jupiter’s equator (by an amount gradually decreasing from about 3° to about 2°), so the Galilean moons don’t eclipse or occult each other. That angle is small enough that Io, Europa, and Ganymede (and their shadows) pass in front of Jupiter. They also get eclipsed by Jupiter’s shadow and occulted by (pass behind) the planet. This handy Jupiter's Moons link from Sky & Telescope Magazine will guide you to the moons and what they’re doing tonight.

November 9th, there will be a short period when Jupiter looks essentially moonless: Europa will be behind Jupiter, Io and Ganymede in front of it, and Callisto will graze the edge of its shadow. Unfortunately, only people in central Asia will be able to see this unusual event: in Europe and Africa it happens in daytime and too close to the Sun (only 38°) for safe viewing. In the Americas it’s below the horizon.

As always, look for the zones and belts. Even when its color is subdued, you should look for the Great Red Spot in the southern equatorial belt within an hour or so of when Jupiter’s rotation brings it towards us (this handy Red Spot transit times link, also from S&T Magazine will tell you when to look).

Jupiter and Saturn location
In 2019, look for Jupiter and Saturn in the southern skies during the northern hemisphere summer. Saturn trails Jupiter by about two hours each night.

Saturn opposition at 2019
Saturn: In 2019 Saturn is at opposition on July 9, so each night it trails Jupiter in the sky by about 2 hours. By May it is a good object in the wee hours: between August and October, it’s well placed for the early evening. Because it’s down south in Sagittarius it favors observers in the southern hemisphere: if you’re in the north, it’s best to observe Saturn on a night with very steady skies.

This year, we’re 24° out of the plane of Saturn’s equator: you can see its north pole, and the rings look very wide open (they were at their widest in 2017). That means that this is a great year to look at the rings: make sure to look for Cassini’s division, which will be prominent. It also means that the rings appear bright: this makes 2019 a bad year to look for the dimmer moons. To know where they are on any night, consult this useful Saturn's Moons link to from Sky and Telescope to keep track of them (they also have a handy mobile app).

This year, the precession of the Moon’s orbit brings it near Saturn. As a result, there are a number of opportunities to see them close together and (depending on where you’re located) even see Saturn occulted by the Moon.