Tonight (December 21), find an unobstructed view of the southwestern horizon to catch a bright “star,” which is actually two planets appearing as a single light.
Saturn and Jupiter get closer to each other from our perspective on Earth about once every 20 years because of their orbits. But this year the two planets will appear closer to each other than they have had in centuries; that their duet takes place at the end of December inspired the label “Christmas Star” for what is known as “great conjunction. “
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“Great conjunction” 2020: NASA tips to see Jupiter and Saturn as “Christmas star”
Although Jupiter and Saturn remain hundreds of millions of miles apart, the two largest planets in our solar system will appear to be huddled almost in the sky tonight.
Today is an important heavenly day for another reason: it is a solstice, marking the official beginning of winter in the northern hemisphere and the beginning of summer in the southern hemisphere.
It is certainly a charming cosmic coincidence that the day with the least natural light throughout the year in the northern hemisphere is also the day when the two planets make a special illumination in the sky. Long night means viewers have more opportunities to see the conjunction, according to Henry Throop, an astronomer in the Division of Planetary Sciences at NASA’s Washington headquarters, who commented on a December 15 NASA Declaration about the event.
Today, Saturn and Jupiter will appear at only a tenth of a degree, or about the thickness of a coin held at an arm’s length, according to a December 2 NASA sky observation statement. However, under high magnification, Jupiter and Saturn can appear as separate objects. Observers with binoculars or telescopes can see the planets and some of their moons in the same field of view.
It’s been about 400 years since Jupiter and Saturn passed so close to each other in the sky and almost 800 years since their conjunction took place at night, according to NASA.
Editor’s note: If you catch a stunning picture of the great December 21st conjunction and want to share it with Space.com for a story or gallery, send pictures and comments to [email protected].
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