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Triplet of astronomical events for him December 21and with him Winter Solstice which is also the shortest day of the year and salutes a phenomenon that has not been observed for about 400 years: Jupiter and Saturn close since they were only in 1623, when Galileo and Kepler were still alive. The conjunction of the two planets was probably the Christmas ‘star’ that, according to the Gospels, would have guided the magicians.
the solstice is programmed in hours 11.02 Italian and marks the beginning of winter. On this day “the Sun in its apparent movement along the ecliptic, which is the projection of the Earth’s orbit towards the sky, reaches the southernmost position with respect to the celestial equator, which is the projection of the Earth’s equator towards the sky “explains astrophysicist Gianluca Masi, head of the Virtual Telescope.
“This means – he continues – that on the day of the winter solstice the arc corresponding to the trajectory of the Sun over our boreal horizon is the most modest of the year and, consequently, gives us the longest night“.
The solstice is greeted by the rare conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn, which are so close that they can be observed together in the field of a telescope. Of course, it is an apparent focus, visible from Earth. The phenomenon could be there Christmas star of the Gospels: “in 7 BC – explained Masi – the conjunction between the two planets occurred three times and it was Kepler who suggested that the Magi were inspired by it, also because the duration of the triple conjunction takes months and this is compatible with organizing a long trip, while other phenomena, such as a comet, have a more modest window of visibility ”.
Furthermore, in the Gospels a comet is not mentioned but a star. To give him the ‘dress’ of a kite, he continued, it was Giotto: “painting in fresco the scene of the Adoration of the Magi in the Scrovegni Chapel, he represented a beautiful comet, with great likelihood because he himself had seen the passage of Halley’s Comet and was evidently inspired by that vision”.
The conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn is a show not to be missed and to watch it at its best Paolo Volpini, from the Italian Union of Amateur Astronomers (Uai) advises “to wait for the sun to set and look in that direction. At approximately 5:00 pm you can begin to see the two very close planets. between 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on December 21. It is important to find a place withfree southwest horizon. The phenomenon is visible to the naked eye, but with a small telescope it is possible to see the rings of Saturn and the moons of Jupiter ”.
