On Monday, Jupiter and Saturn will move closer to each other in what is called the grand conjunction, as the celestial wonder was last observed in 1623 and will occur again in 2080. The two slow-moving planets will be separated by 0 , 1 degrees.
This is all you need to know about it:
1. According to NASA, the moment of the conjunction will be such that everyone can see it.
2. They will appear so close that an outstretched little finger will easily cover both planets in the sky.
3. If you look through a telescope, you can also see the four large moons of Jupiter that orbit the planet.
Four. It will be visible almost an hour after sunset in the southwestern sky.
This is how the great conjunction will look on December 21 (Photo: Nasa)
5. In India, the conjunction is likely to be visible between 6.30pm and 7.30pm.
Jupiter and Saturn merging in the night sky, the closest in centuries
6. The Nehru Planetarium in Delhi (https://nehruplanetarium.org/) has also opened registration to view the conjunction. Adhering to Covid-9 guidelines, it began aerial surveillance on December 20 to avoid overcrowding, according to its website. This will continue until December 22. In addition, there will be webcasting.
Bengaluru’s Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium has said it will broadcast the visualization of the grand conjunction live on the YouTube channel and Facebook (https://www.taralaya.org/) weather permitting.
7. Why is the conjunction called a Christmas star? Although the plants will be separated, they will appear as a large star, like what is believed to be the Christmas star or the Star of Bethlehem, which appeared in the eastern sky when Jesus Christ was born. The Book of Matthew mentions this star that according to the Bible led three wise men to Jerusalem.
8. The conjunction will also coincide with the December solstice, the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere and the longest in the south.
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