According to astronomers, by December 21, Jupiter and Saturn will be close to one centimeter from Earth. By some assumptions, this is the very rare association associated in the Christian Bible, known as the Star of Bethlehem, with the birth of Jesus.

In recent months, those who have been curiously scanning the night sky may have been aware of an interesting phenomenon: Jupiter and Saturn have been slowly getting closer. This type of “bridal dance” will continue in the next few days, until December 21, when the rapprochement will reach its peak.

Of course, it is not that the two planets are physically close to each other: they will be in a similar section of their orbit around the Sun at this time, so when looking at Earth, the celestial bodies appear to be next to each other. . In fact, they will be about 643 million kilometers apart. Jupiter orbits the Sun in 12 and Saturn in 29 Earth years.

NASA estimates that the difference between the two celestial bodies will be only one centimeter from Earth. All this cannot be called an ordinary phenomenon: although a similar coordination occurs every 20 years, according to astronomers, the current one will be special compared to these. For the last time, Jupiter and Saturn were this close 794 years ago, in 1226.

The next one will no longer have to wait so many centuries: it is expected to happen in 2080, which also means that the majority of adults now living will probably never see it again.

A similar proximity occurred in 1623, but at that time the two planets were at a 13-degree angle to the Sun, making them nearly impossible to detect.

The monthly Celestial Calendar of the Hungarian Astronomical Society states that the two planets will be visible before 8 pm on December 21 and after 5 am on December 22, both with binoculars and with the naked eye, as long as the sky is not cloudy. That is, we can see the phenomenon even before the start of the curfew and after it has expired.

The astronomical document mentions that, according to Christian scriptures, the birth of Jesus Christ was announced by a “star”, also called the Star of Bethlehem. “Astronomers and historians have been very busy deciphering what celestial phenomenon could have appeared in those times, what could have been the star of Bethlehem. Possible explanations may have included comets, supernovae, and various planetary assemblages. it would have been recorded by astronomers in the Far East, but no such record is known. “Taking into account all other knowledge, according to the unified author of Hungarian Astronomy, the triple coexistence of Jupiter and Saturn is behind the biblical phenomenon known as the Belen star.

Summoning the astronomers The New York Times it also takes the reader back to ancient mythology. Renu Malhotra, an expert in planetary sciences at the University of Arizona, recalls in the article that such coincidences were considered a bad omen in ancient times, saying that the gods represented by the allied planets dealt a blow to humans.

It is not a scientific phenomenon, not even a historical one, that most people today are probably expecting the next set to be “late”, and we have already heard the blow this year.

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