The two largest planets in the solar system, Jupiter and Saturn, have entered the planetary kiss range in the evening sky on Monday, an intimacy that will not appear until 2080.
This “great conjunction,” as astronomers know it, took place by chance at the winter solstice for those in the northern hemisphere and early summer in the global south.
The two planets were, in fact, more than 730 million kilometers away. But because of their alignment with the Earth, they seemed to be closer to each other than at any time in almost 400 years.
The optimal “conjunction” took place at 1822 GMT.
# Great conjunction of #Jupiter and #Saturn through my telescope immediately after 6 p.m. 4 of the months of Jupiter; Europe, Ganymede, Io and Callisto and the moon Titan of Saturn visible. Stacked many images for more clarity and color. Nexstar Celestron 6SE with Nikon D750 attached. #scwx #ncwx pic.twitter.com/vzP2IAuFnS
– Ed Piotrowski (@EdPiotrowski) December 22, 2020
Monday’s best viewing conditions were clear skies and close to the equator, while people in Western Europe and a vast area of Africa had to train their view to the southwest.
But hundreds of fans of the space also gathered in Kolkata to watch – through a telescope at a technology museum in the city, or from the surrounding rooftops and open areas.
Hey everyone, do you see that? It’s in the sky too @GoogleDoodles! (And we look pretty!) @NASAMoon, can you say what we see? pic.twitter.com/i5PWegwSRm
– NASA Earth (@NASAEarth) December 21, 2020
And in Kuwait, astrophotographers traveled to the desert west of Kuwait to capture the once-in-a-lifetime event.
Kuwaiti astrophotographers following the conjunction in the al-Salmi district. (Yasser Al-Zayyat / AFP)
Looking through a telescope or even a good pair of binoculars, the two gas giants were separated by no more than a fifth of the diameter of the full moon.
But with the naked eye, it would merge into an “extremely bright” double planet, said Florent Deleflie of the Paris Observatory.
“The Great Conjunction refers to the period when two planets have relatively similar positions relative to Earth,” Deleflie said.
“With a small instrument – even a small pair of binoculars – humans can see Jupiter’s equatorial bands and its main satellites and Saturn’s rings.”
The great conjunction. Jupiter and the largest 4 months (550 million miles away) and Saturn (1 billion miles away). Image of the telescope in Melbourne, Australia by Sajal Chakravorty pic.twitter.com/q5971CTD4A
– Tom Kierein (@TomKierein) December 22, 2020
The last time Jupiter and Saturn came so close was in 1623, but weather conditions in the regions where the reunion could be seen blocked sight.
I should have expected, but still surprised to see how bold the Zodiacal Light was when it swallowed the crescent Moon, Jupiter and Saturn tonight. Wide images of that trio at the top of San Francisco. The Milky Way, the Summer Triangle and the glowing gobies.# Great conjunction pic.twitter.com/ayfd4rayba
– Jeremy Perez (@ jperez1690) December 17, 2020
Visibility was apparently better in the period before the Middle Ages, more precisely on March 4, 1226
It was too cloudy for most of us in the UK to see # Great conjunction 🪐 but some of the weather supervisors in Aberdeenshire saw something, no doubt, just as impressive in the night sky …#Aurora borealis pic.twitter.com/xDZOMqg491
– Simon King (@SimonOKing) December 22, 2020
Jupiter, which is the largest planet, takes 12 years to revolve around the Sun, while Saturn takes 29 years.
A few more photos of Saturn and Jupiter from yesterday @Ely_Cathedral #saturnJupiter pic.twitter.com/KwUDMORlSJ
– Veronica in Fens 🧚🏼♀️ (@VeronicaJoPo) December 21, 2020
Every 20 years or so, observers on Earth appear to be getting closer to each other.
© Agence France-Presse