Jupiter and Saturn are about to do something they almost never do: BGR

• Jupiter and Saturn will line up in the night sky on December 21st.
• The two planets only align every two decades or so.
• The planets will appear so close that they appear to be a “double planet” according to astronomers.

What will you do on the evening of December 21st? Do you dream of all the great holiday gifts you will receive? Frantic last-second shopping for those gifts for someone else? Or maybe just watch some Netflix because I mean, what else is there to do when there’s a pandemic?

Well, if you end up doing none of these things, you could spend some time looking up at the sky and seeing a sight that’s only possible every two decades or so. That night, two of the largest planets in our solar system, Jupiter and Saturn, will be close and close. In fact, they will be so incredibly close that they will appear as a “double planet,” according to Rice University astronomer Patrick Hartigan.

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Due to the nature of the way planets orbit the Sun, the proximity of two planets to each other varies greatly over many years. In the case of Earth and Mars, our two worlds are close enough to launch missions from our planet to the Red Planet approximately every two years. For Jupiter and Saturn, the two planets “align” from our point of view only about every 20 years.

That said, the night of December 21 will be particularly special due to the proximity of the two planets. In fact, it has been hundreds of years since the two planets will line up in the skies as they will in a few weeks.

“Alignments between these two planets are quite rare, occurring once every 20 years or so, but this conjunction is exceptionally rare due to the proximity of the planets to each other,” Hartigan said in a statement. “You should go back to just before dawn on March 4, 1226, to see a closer alignment between these visible objects in the night sky.”

It’s a long, long time and probably a good reason to take a moment to look up at the sky. If you also have a hobby-level telescope, you should have a good chance of seeing it, assuming the weather is cooperating. The closer you are to the equator, the better your view will be.

“On the evening of the closest approach, December 21, they will look like a double planet, separated by only 1/5 the diameter of the full moon,” Hartigan explains. “For most telescope viewers, each planet and many of their larger moons will be visible in the same field of view that evening.”

Mark your calendars, because 2020 may actually give us something we want for once!

Mike Wehner has been reporting on technology and video games for the past decade, covering the latest news and trends in VR, wearables, smartphones and the technology of the future. Most recently, Mike worked as a Tech Editor at The Daily Dot and appeared on USA Today, Time.com, and countless other websites and print media. His love of the news is second only to his addiction to games.