Jupiter reaches opposition on the 9^th, just above the Teapot of Sagittarius. At a brilliant magnitude of -2.7, this giant planet will no doubt attract the gaze of many telescopic observers. Distant, point-like Pluto, at only magnitude 13.8, is less than four millionths of Jupiter’s brightness and over seven times as far away. Despite having reached opposition on June 20^th, it represents a far greater challenge even for observers with large telescopes and dark skies.

Although the other bright planets will be in conjunction with the Sun, and difficult or impossible to observe in the coming months, they will definitely not be forgotten. Robotic exploration of our solar system is in high gear, and it seems that each day that one or more of the planets makes headlines.

Take for example the Phoenix Mars Lander. After a successful landing on Mars, mission operations have begun, marred only by occasional communication glitches. I’m amazed at the timely way in which even mundane details and inevitable speed bumps are communicated to the public. In fact, the Phoenix Mars Lander actually blogs daily using its own Twitter site, albeit with the assistance of a human proxy. When I read its reports, I hear the monotone voice of 2001’s Hal 9000 computer, don’t you?

A mysterious white material has been found in trenches dug in the Martian red soil. Quite a bit excitement concerns its apparent disappearance, interpreted as a clear indication of water ice. Although textbooks have for some time suggested that ice from both water and carbon dioxide form Mars’ polar caps, hard evidence of water ice is significant. Water is the holy grail of planetary exploration: its presence is an apparent necessity for life, microbial as well as for future manned colonization and exploration. In addition, it is a cheap and universal rocket fuel.

Cassini continues its exploration of Saturn and its moons. The images of the rings, subtle shades and sharp shadows on the planet, wispy ringlets and each of the remarkable moons are nothing short of spectacular. Expect more stunning images from the next Titan flyby is at the end of this month.

Messenger has already flown past Venus and Mercury, with the second of three planned Mercury flybys this coming October. In 2011, the spacecraft will begin a year-long orbit of scientific study. In the opposite direction relative to the Sun, New Horizons has entered its interplanetary cruise, having just passed the orbit of Saturn last month. Rendezvous with Pluto and its three known moons occurs in 2015. But is Pluto a planet or a “plutoid”? This controversy has resurfaced and the battle lines are drawn as before, pitting the IAU’s definition versus Alan Stern (a NASA scientist in charge of the New Horizon’s mission) who leads a vocal opposition of professionals and amateur Pluto-aficionados. Kidding aside, in addition to Stern’s pointed criticisms, I’d like to hear his new and improved definition of what makes a planet.

Other scientists stay busy studying our home planet and its moon with robots as well. Jason 2, a satellite designed to monitor global sea level with unrivaled precision (an increase is a symptom of global warming) launched this week from California. And also from the west coast, Google announced a competition to return to the Moon with a privately funded robot in just four years, well ahead of NASA’s advertised return of humans to the Moon in 2020, at an estimated cost of over $100 billion.

So you can see it will be a busy and exciting time for the whole solar system this summer and fall. Observe Jupiter all night on any clear night, with the more distant members of the solar system for large telescopes or early risers with Uranus and Neptune in the Watery Constellations. For cloudy-night astronomy, Mercury, Mars, Saturn and Pluto will surely record many hits on the Internet. To complement virtual observing with a real and much closer to home event, I look forward to the Perseid meteors in August, which peaks on the 12^th with a waxing gibbous Moon setting just before optimal viewing times. If only we could be just as certain of mosquito- and cloud-free skies!