Bolzano – The astronomical highlight of the year is ahead of us today, December 21: the two giant planets Jupiter and Saturn will be so close, seen from Earth, that they will hardly be distinguished from each other with the naked eye.

Such an encounter, astronomers call it a grand conjunction, occurs every 20 years, but it is very rare for the two planets to get so close. The last time was in 1623 and the next time Jupiter and Saturn won’t be that close again until March 2080.

A very famous major conjunction was that of the year seven before Christ. None other than the astronomer Johannes Kepler has speculated whether this might not be the “Star of Bethlehem”, which is mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew and is widely described as a tailed star.

It may be doubted if it really is this biblical “star”, but it is always a beautiful view through binoculars. The pair of planets can be seen flat on the southwest horizon in the early afternoon.

The Max Valier Observatory is currently closed. However, amateur astronomer Max Valier would like to invite all concerned to comfortably gaze at the night sky from their own balcony or garden and watch the spectacle in the sky.

From: mk