Sofia residents stormed into Vitosha to see the “kiss” of Jupiter and Saturn, the sky did not open (Updated, photos)

Many citizens of Sofia went to Vitosha in the afternoon to try to see the “great meeting” of the planets Jupiter and Saturn today, December 21, the longest night of the year. Such a fusion in our eyes of the two giants, like the current one, had not occurred since the Middle Ages.

Unfortunately for the enthusiasts, who went to search for sights, unseen for centuries, the sky over Sofia did not open and the clouds were thick. The people who climbed under the Hoof went from place to place in search of a suitable viewing angle and constantly monitored the coordinates on their mobile phones.

Jupiter and Saturn have been gradually getting closer to our eyes in recent weeks, but tonight was the culmination when they lined up before the human eye: just 0.1 degrees in the night sky and they shone like a brilliant “double star.”

Today the sun in Sofia set at 4:56 p.m. and the light of the two planets could be seen 30 minutes later. The end of the “kiss” of Jupiter and Saturn for the Bulgarian observer came at 19.17, when the two planets disappeared below the horizon.

Astronomers explain that Jupiter “catches up” with Saturn, which orbits in a wider orbit, once every 20 years, but the last time the world was able to see a contact as close as it is today was in 1226.