It’s not every day that two gas giants flirt with each other in the night sky, so when Jupiter and Saturn recently became “partners,” space lovers armed themselves with their cameras and telescopes to capture the special moment.
The two largest planets in our solar system, Jupiter and Saturn, appeared closer to each other in 367 (1623) years on Monday from the time of Galileo in the 17th century.
A rare celestial phenomenon in itself, the event piqued the interest of enthusiasts around the world who pulled out their cameras and telescopes to witness the conjunction in the sky like never before. The event also marked the winter solstice, the shortest daylight hours of the year.
“Sky watchers, a once-in-a-lifetime gift awaits! Jupiter and Saturn are doing a planetary dance that will result in the Great Conjunction on December 21, just after sunset,” the official NASA Twitter account tweeted. .
Skywatchers, a once-in-a-lifetime gift awaits you! Jupiter and Saturn are doing a planetary dance that will result in the Great Conjunction on December 21, just after sunset. Find out: When and where to look How to photograph the conjunction Visit: https://t.co/SdQSLex2Ex pic.twitter.com/DkaB5XyO9B
– NASA (@NASA) December 20, 2020
In a later Tumblr post, NASA suggested tips and tricks to netizens to capture the grand conjunction.
“Find a place with a clear view of the sky, like a field or park. Jupiter and Saturn are bright, so they can be seen even from most cities,” NASA noted.
“One hour after sunset, look up into the southwestern sky. Jupiter will look like a bright star and will be easily visible. Saturn will be a little fainter and will appear slightly above and to the left of Jupiter until December 21 “the publication reads.
Read also: Jupiter and Saturn will seem too close as ‘partners’ in the weirdest phenomenon
Those who knew the exercise, captured the magic through their lenses.
The alignments between these two planets are quite rare, they occur once every 20 years or so, but this conjunction is exceptionally rare due to how close the planets will be to each other, “said astronomer Patrick Hartigan.
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