... Glowing just shy of magnitude -3, Jupiter was brighter than any star in the sky, and brighter even than Mars was during its famously bright opposition of 2003 August . On the right, the band of the Milky Way Galaxy fades into distant atmospheric haze above the Jupiter is nearing the closest part of its elliptical orbit to the Sun and so will appear even brighter during its next opposition in 2010 September. ... Publications with keywords: Jupiter . Publications with words: Jupiter . ...