Christmas is just around the corner and a lot of astronomical events will see the year come out in an explosion. A big conjunction tonight (December 21) will see Jupiter and Saturn together, followed by the peak of the Ursid meteor shower on Tuesday and the last full moon of the year on December 30. Shortly after today’s sunset, Jupiter and Saturn will be seen almost on the western horizon, possibly appearing to some as a single bright “star.”
In reality, however, the planets will pass each other at 0.1 degrees or one-fifth the width of the full moon.
This will be the closest planet that has come together in almost 400 years and will be the closest visible conjunction since 1226.
The tight passage, just four days before Christmas, has led some people to call this conjunction the Christmas Star of 2020.
According to the New Testament of the Bible, a bright star appeared in the east around the birth of Jesus Christ.
This new star then led three sages or magicians to Bethlehem, where they covered the newborn Jesus with gifts of gold, incense, and myrrh.
READ MORE: The conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn tonight: What is a conjunction?
Some astronomers speculate that the biblical Christmas Star may have been a great conjunction, sometime between the 7th and 5th centuries BC.
Bruce McClure and Deborah Byrd of EarthSky said: “Some believe that the Christmas star was indeed a conjunction – or a close encounter – of Jupiter with two other planets, Saturn and Mars.
“The planets were ‘wandering stars’ for the ancients and for many they had great astrological or mystical significance.”
Although an astronomer told Express.co.uk that the planets will most likely not appear as an object tonight, you will not want to miss this conjunction, as it will not be suitable until March 2080.
“Jupiter takes about 12 years to orbit the Sun, Saturn about 30 years.
“So, only every 20 years do the two share their right ascent – longitude, if you will – in the sky.
“The last time this happened was far back in 2000, but it wasn’t nearly as spectacular at the time.”
When viewed from London, for example, the sun will set at around 3.53 pm GMT today.
When this happens, start looking west, where the two planets will converge.
The good news is that you won’t need a telescope or binoculars to enjoy the show.
However, if you have a telescope at hand, you should be able to observe the rings of Saturn and the four Galilean moons of Jupiter: Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.
Mr Kerss said: “In the eyepiece of a telescope, you will be able to see storms on Jupiter and Saturn’s rings at the same time, with probably five months visible between the two planets.
“Such exceptional conjunctions are rare. The next one that will bring the planets so close will not take place until 2080.
“And the last of this brilliance was almost four centuries ago in 1623.
“It’s weird to think when the telescope itself was just an invention as new as the iPhone is today.”