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Jupiter and Saturn will line up in December to create a seemingly “double planet” in the night sky – and it will happen just before Christmas.
What is happening?
Popular Mechanics reports that Jupiter and Saturn will line up for the first time in centuries. In fact, the two planets haven’t been that close since the Middle Ages.
- The two planets will appear as a double planet on December 21st, the winter solstice.
- The two planets will be separated by a diameter less than the diameter of the moon from December 15 to December 25.
Key quote:
- “Alignments between these two planets are quite rare, occurring once every 20 years or so, but this conjunction is exceptionally rare due to how close the planets will appear,” Rice University astronomer Patrick Hartigan said, according to SciTech Daily. . “You should go back to just before sunrise on March 4, 1226, to see a closer alignment between these visible objects in the night sky.”
When to see it?
The two planets will line up after dark in the Northern Hemisphere. Saturn and Jupiter will appear together in the southwestern part of the sky, according to Yahoo! Finance.
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