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Jupiter and Saturn, the two largest planets in the solar system, will bring this Monday as close as possible, an astronomical phenomenon called “Great Conjunction” and that he will not return to be produced under these conditions until 2080.
After sunset, the two gas giants will appear in the same field of view of an observing instrument, giving the impression that they are touching, although in reality they are separated by hundreds of millions of kilometers.
To enjoy this show you need a simple instrument of observation, a very clear sky and look towards the southwest, on a strip of territory that encompasses western Europe (Ireland, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Portugal) and a large part of Africa.
The visual approach between two planets already started for several months, and it will reach its minimum distance on the day of the winter solstice (a coincidence of the calendar). In the end, it will give the impression that the two stars are one.
The Great Conjunction corresponds “while the two planets need to find similar relative positions with respect to Earth”, explains Florent Deleflie, from the Paris Observatory to AFP.
Jupiter, the greatest, takes 12 years to go around the Sun, Saturn, 29. And every two decades approximately, The two planets seem to be getting closer when we look at the celestial sphere from Earth.
– Since 1623 –
In a perspective effect, the two giants will appear stuck together, “with a distance of only six arc minutes between them, which corresponds to about one fifth of the angular diameter of the Moon”, He needs Deleflie.
With a small observation instrument, even with simple binoculars, we can see in the same field the equatorial belts of Jupiter and its main satellites, as well as the rings of Saturn
Said
At first glance, the approach it will give the feeling that there is a double planet, since “Jupiter and Saturn are two very luminous stars,” he continues.
This exceptional show can be observe for several tens of minutes, on a night in which in several countries there are restrictions such as the curfew due to the pandemic.
The last Great Conjunction occurred in 2000, but to find a distance as small as what It will occur on Monday, we must go back to 1623. And a similar phenomenon will not happen again, until March 15, 2080.
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