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For the first time in 800 years, Jupiter and Saturn will appear as a single point in the sky. The two planets are historically close to each other: they are only 0.1 degrees apart.
Historic view from the sky
And weather permitting, more people will be able to see the historic view of the sky on Monday, December 21. The planets will be at their closest point around 7:30 PM Norwegian time.
When two objects are close to each other seen from the ground, it is called a conjunction.
When Håkon IV Håkonsson was king
– Planets cross approximately every 20 years, but how closely they cross is different from time to time. This time it’s very close, says Joakim Martin, information manager at NRK’s Deep Sky Exploration.
The last time this could be seen from Earth was when Håkon IV Håkonsson was king of Norway in 1226, according to the broadcaster.
Next time in 60 years
The planets are also said to be close in 1623, but at that time they were so close to the sun that it was not possible to see it.
At their meeting on Dec. 21, Jupiter will be 886 million kilometers from Earth, while Saturn will be almost twice as far away at 1620 million kilometers, according to Illustrated Science.
It is estimated that the next time we can witness the phenomenon will be in 60 years, that is, in 2080.
