About 800 years ago in 1226 the two planets were visually “arranged” in the night sky. It was a coincidence of Jupiter and Saturn. In a rare event, they appeared very close together with one-half of the apparent width of the moon.
This happened on March 4, 1226 – just a few months before the death of Francis of Assisi to give you an idea of the timeline. It was the 20th year of Genghis Khan’s reign and one year before his death in 1227.
While 1226 was the last time a very close connection between Saturn and Jupiter appeared, it was not the last time. In fact, the connections between Jupiter and Saturn occur every 19.6 years. Both Jupiter (1.2) and Saturn (3.6) orbit the Sun due to their angles, while they orbit every 1.6. When they meet years later, they will be at different distances from each other, wherever there are 3 or less. Therefore, it is more rare that we saw less congestion than 1 con.
In 2020 we should see a rarity Off Encounter, attachment of one tenth of a degree. To find a similarly close connection in 2020, in addition to 1227, you have to go back to the 17th century.
In the summer of 1623, Galileo was enjoying a telescope he had built 14 years earlier, in 1609. Little did they know that the planets were connected together. If he had known, he would not have seen it. These planets were arranged within 13º of the Sun and therefore were not visible from Earth. Sad day for Galileo.
Now, in 2020, we will see this glory in the coming weeks. If you watch every night, you will see both of them getting closer together every evening.
The so-called “great connection” will eventually take place on a winter solstice night.
That’s right! Coincidentally, at the beginning of the longest night of the year we will see that the two planets appear separated by a tenth of a degree (0.1º). That’s one-fifth of the apparent diameter of the moon!
When viewed through a telescope or even a telescope, you will likely see both Saturn and Jupiter in the same frame (already a rarity) as well as their moon!
Of course, when these two gas giants “appear” together, they will still be millions of miles away. Jupiter is about 54,545 million miles from Earth, and Saturn is 5,455 million miles further.
Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system and will shine brightly. Saturn will have a golden color to it.
When the two planets “meet” on December 21st, be sure to see them during the evening and with the setting of the sun. Both of these planets will “set” up too quickly and you don’t want to pay for it. Look west.
Some have called the meeting a ‘Christmas star’, because on December 21 both planets will look so big and bright together. However, I will note that both astronomers and biblical scholars have determined the star of Bethlehem at the time of Jesus’ birth that there could not have been a connection between Jupiter and Saturn during that time, or that it was only about half a degree, or about the width of the moon, and Not so bright. Not as bright as we will see on December 21st. Also keep in mind that this can happen at any time of the year, not just during December. It is all based on a 19.6 year cycle.
While this event will also take place in 2040 and 2060, it will not be until March 15, 2080 that they will be as close to this vision again, or perhaps as close as they will be in 2020.
If you see a Christmas star on December 21st, don’t forget to send us your photos via the Comm8 Weather app!
.
