[ad_1]
While things on planet Earth may be something of a disaster this year, the night sky has offered some incredible views throughout 2020. During Halloween, astronomers were treated to a rare full moon seen almost globally that also happened to the moon. smaller than the year while earlier this month, the planets aligned so that almost all the planets in the solar system were exposed at different points in the night sky. However, the cosmos may have saved the best for last as this year’s winter solstice will see Jupiter and Saturn form a rare “double planet” in the sky, something that hasn’t happened in 800 years.
According to Popular Mechanics (via Deseret News), The orbits of Jupiter and Saturn will get close enough to appear as if they are one above the other in the western sky, creating a very bright “double planet” effect on December 21st. Technically, the alignment took place a few weeks ago, although from Earth’s point of view it won’t happen until the 21st. The last time this happened with such close proximity was in the Middle Ages, particularly in 1623, and some – including the German astronomer Johannes Kepler as far back as 1614 – have suggested that the astronomical event may have been what the Nativity Story calls the Star of Bethlehem.
If you want to witness this rare cosmic event, you will need to act quickly on the night of the 21st. For those in the Northern Hemisphere, planets will appear in the southwestern sky near the constellation of Capricorn just after sunset. The planets will dive below the horizon only a few hours after sunset and there will not be another event – called the conjunction – that is this close until March 15, 2080. If you go out to see the conjunction on the 21st though, you may want to bring your own telescope. . It is possible that you can see the Galilean moons, the bands of Jupiter and the rings of Saturn all at the same time.
What do you think? Will you check this rare conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter? Did you notice what almost all the planets in the solar system looked like earlier this month? Let us know in the comments.
Photo: NurPhoto / NurPhoto via Getty Images
.
[ad_2]
Source link
