Jupiter: If you’re up until the wee hours, you can observe Jupiter by April. It’s at opposition on July 14, when it rises at sunset and by midnight it’s near the meridian (due south, if you live in the northern hemisphere). Between August and October it’s well placed at the end of twilight. Unfortunately for northern hemisphere observers, this year it’s low in the southern part of the ecliptic, in Sagittarius. That makes the sky less steady and surface features harder to see. Jupiter spends the year flirting with Saturn, approaching very close at the end of the year as the planets fade into the evening twilight.
This year, we’re looking from a direction only about 1° south of the plane of Jupiter’s equator, so the Galilean moons appear to travel on nearly straight lines. They don’t eclipse or occult each other (that will happen next year), but all of them, 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.
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).
Saturn: In 2020 Saturn is at opposition on July 20, less than a week after Jupiter. It spends most of the year about a finderscope view east of Jupiter (to the left, from the northern hemisphere). It’s visible before dawn through the northern spring, and between August and October it’s well placed at the end of twilight. Unfortunately for northern hemisphere observers, this year it’s low in the southern part of the ecliptic, in Sagittarius.
