Jupiter and Saturn present the once in a lifetime show in December

Sky watchers will be in for a rare surprise as Jupiter and Saturn get so close they almost look like a single glowing planet in the sky.

Saturn has been following Jupiter in the night sky for the past few months.

The two planets will get closer and closer over the next three weeks, until they appear together at 13.33 UTC on December 21, which in New Zealand will be around 2 a.m. on December 22.

This event, known as the great conjunction, occurs approximately once every 20 years.

But the proximity of the two planets makes this conjunction very rare.

With only a tenth of a degree separating the two planets – which is a fifth of the Moon’s width – this is the closest period they will have appeared in the sky to each other in nearly 400 years. The last time it occurred was in 1623.

They will be so close together that you can see them in an eyepiece of a telescope, says Andrew Jacob, curator of the Sydney Observatory.

“You would be lucky to see it once in a lifetime,” he says.

The two planets will no longer appear so close to each other until 2080.

While the planets appear close to each other from Earth, they are actually separated by great distances as they orbit the Sun.

From Earth we see the planets moving east to west across the sky along the same narrow band as the Moon and the Sun.

While Saturn takes nearly 30 years to complete one orbit, Jupiter takes nearly 12 years, so we see Jupiter lapping Saturn every 20 years.

The distance between them each time depends on how the inclination of the orbits of the two planets aligns.

But you don’t have to wait until December 22 to enjoy the two planets.

What is the best time to see the planets?

From now on, Jupiter and Saturn will be remarkably close night after night above the western horizon in the evening twilight.

“This is a good opportunity to see the movements [of the sky] in action, “says Jacob.

Astrophotographer Anthony Wesley observed the two planets from his property in Rubyvale, central Queensland.

“I think they will only look best from the naked eye perspective in the first week of December,” says Mr. Wesley.

“They are a little higher in the sky and if people are in town with street lights you just have a little more chance of seeing them before they go too low.”

As the weeks pass, Saturn gets closer to Jupiter, but both planets get closer to the western horizon and sunset comes later.

With a crescent moon from December 17, the planets, now only a finger apart, will put on a beautiful sight, says amateur astronomer Ian Musgrave.

“It will be particularly spectacular with the naked eye as well as with binoculars and telescopes,” says Musgrave.

Interesting Fact: If you hold your left fist at arm’s length and cover the Moon with the knuckle of your index finger, you will not only hide Jupiter and Saturn, but block nearly 80% of all known moons in our solar system, (thus like Pluto, which will be under your little finger but too small to see).

What to look for

Assuming the weather is clear, you will be able to see planets even in light-polluted areas without any equipment.

With the naked eye, look for two points: the smaller Saturn that appears to be chasing the larger and brighter Jupiter.

On December 22, the two planets get so close that you may not be able to see the gap between them, Musgrave says.

“Just the fact that you can look at one point and say ‘they’re two separate planets close enough to each other’ will be amazing,” he says.

Wesley expects to have a good view of the event from [central Queensland].

“There’s nothing out here but dirt and kangaroos, so I have no problem seeing them as far as the western horizon,” he says.

Wesley captured extraordinary images of the planets using a high-speed video camera connected to an 8-meter telescope.

However, with binoculars or a small to medium telescope you’ll be able to catch details like Jupiter’s four largest moons, he says.

“The innermost moon Io takes only three days to make a full orbit. So even in the space of an hour or two, it moves quite noticeably compared to other moons,” Wesley says.

With a small telescope you could catch details like the two dark bands on either side of Jupiter’s equator, and if you’re lucky, you might even be able to make out the great red spot.

“Jupiter only takes about 9 hours and 40 minutes to make one full rotation, so at some point in each of these rotations it faces Earth,” says Wesley.

There are apps and online calculators that you can use to see when the red spot is facing the Earth when the planets are above the horizon in the evening sky you live in.

You will also be able to see Saturn’s rings and a couple of its moons, such as Titan, through a small telescope.

“Saturn’s rings are the same size as Jupiter, so even with a moderately small telescope you will see Saturn and you will see the rings,” he says.

Geminid meteor shower in mid-December

December is also the month to see the annual Geminid meteor shower.

And this year, with no moon to wash away the sight, it will be a cracker.

The meteor shower, which is caused by Earth passing through a debris trail created by asteroid 3200 Phaethon, will be at its best on December 14 and 15 in New Zealand.

“If you look north it is very easy to see Castor and Pollux [the two bright stars of Gemini].

“The radiant of the Geminids is just below Castor, and on one side are Orion and Taurus.”

– ABC