S.T. George – Something special is happening in the sky this month, known as the “Christmas Star”, which will appear a few days before the holiday.
The Christmas constellation is actually a combination of dynamic planets that can be easily seen in the evening sky over the next two weeks. Jupiter and Saturn will move closer to each other – which will descend into astronomical glory on the night of December 21, the winter solstice.
Such an event, known as the “Jupiter-Saturn Great Connection”, occurs every 20 years. The last time this happened was in 2000, but it is eclipsing what happened this year because the planets did not appear close together at that time.
Also known as the “Star of Bethlehem” because of its brilliance, it is similar to the star that guided the two worlds to Bethlehem.
During the month of December, the planets will always appear closer each night. In southern Utah, the pair will be easy to see with the naked eye, looking down at the southwest sky about 45 minutes after sunset. Jupiter will be the brightest place and Saturn will appear dim.
Jupiter and Saturn will come so close to the western sky that when seen with the naked eye it appears as a bright point of light. Although the planets appear to overlap, Saturn and Jupiter will literally not come close to each other, as both are massive planets – each about 760-1,300 times the size of Earth – and will still be millions of miles apart.
At the nearest phase of the alignment, Jupiter and Saturn will appear one-tenth of a degree apart on the same night, December 21, and will appear so close that it will take a pink finger held at arm’s length to cover both planets.
A video courtesy of NASA footage can be seen at the top of this report.
According to the Sky report from the Stellar Vista Observatory, the greatest connection occurs on the same day, although the two planets are “already very close and will be unusually close by the end of the year.”
The planets appear closer because of their orbits, paths that are not in a perfect circle. So when both planets and the earth reach a certain stage of their journey, the alignment appears closer to them when viewed from the earth.
The celestial report also states that Jupiter orbits faster than Saturn because it is closer to the Sun, which moves them in the same direction as the sky visible from Earth. What makes this year’s arrangement so incredible is the distance between the planets instead of the connections and the fact that the closest encounter is taking place on December 21, which has not happened since 1623. But even in 1623, it almost would have happened. Impossible because its existence was outside by the sun.
John Mosley told St George’s News that it would have been very difficult to see him as he calculated, if only he had seen it, although astronomers would have calculated what was happening.
According to astronomy.com, the connection would have taken place earlier0000 years before the position of the two gas giants on December 21, 1226 could have been transformed into a bright star around the dark night sky.
Christmas Star – Bethlehem aka Star
For centuries, scientists and scholars have debated the nature of this biblical light. It is said that one possible explanation for the Bethlehem star is that the passing of Jupiter and Saturn three times between May and December in 7 BC, which was considered a rare pair and would have created quite a spectacle.
Whether it was enough to send three wise men on a journey of hundreds of miles through deserts, mountains and arid terrain to see what was going on in Bethlehem seems impossible, according to the PHO.
Moreover, the connection that followed was not as bright as what happened this year, and there are many other contributing factors to account for the age group of events that took place on this starry night 20 years ago.
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