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In a historic event that occurs after nearly 800 years, Jupiter and Saturn will align closer in the night sky on December 21, forming the ‘Christmas Star’ in a phenomenon called the ‘grand conjunction’. According to NASA, the two planets will appear brighter in the sky as they converge closer in their respective orbits. “The vibrant planetary conjunction will be easily visible in the evening sky for the next two weeks when the bright planets Jupiter and Saturn merge,” NASA said in a statement.
While planetary alignment is not an uncommon phenomenon in the solar system, the two celestial bodies, Jupiter and Saturn, align only once every 20 years. However, the 2020 spectacle is rare, as these two planets will be at their ‘closest point’ activating the brightest light like the Star of Bethlehem some 2000 years ago. Sky watchers will be able to observe the alignment with the naked eye in the southwest of the sky just after sunset.
According to NASA, even when the two planets appear to merge in the sky from Earth, they are actually hundreds of millions of miles apart in space. This is also partly due to the tilt of the Earth’s axis during the winter solstice that will make the two planets look closer than they actually are.
“Conjunctions like this could occur on any day of the year, depending on where the planets are in their orbits,” said Henry Throop, an astronomer in the Division of Planetary Sciences at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “The date of the conjunction is determined by the positions of Jupiter, Saturn and the Earth on their paths around the Sun, while the date of the solstice is determined by the tilt of the Earth’s axis.
The solstice is the longest night of the year, so this rare coincidence will give people a great opportunity to go out and see the solar system, “he added. Additionally, Troop said that night sky watchers will be able to see Jupiter in the inner lane, closing in on Saturn throughout the month and finally overtaking it on December 21.
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How to view the event:
- On can walk away from city lights and find a clear view of the sky, just like in an open field. Jupiter and Saturn, according to NASA, are intensely bright and one should be able to look up at the sky and have a clear view from almost anywhere.
- Viewers are advised to search for the two planets at least an hour after sunset and to look up at the southwestern sky. NASA explains, “Saturn will be a little weaker and will appear a bit above and to the left of Jupiter until December 21, when Jupiter will overtake it and they will reverse positions in the sky.”
- One can see the two planets with the naked eye, but using binoculars or a small telescope, viewers can see the four large moons orbiting Jupiter.
[Jupiter and Saturn. Credit: twitter/@PenPure1]
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