Jupiter-Saturn Conunction, Dec 21 sunset for 1 hr
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1margd
ETA: Aaargh. Apologies for typo in title... CONJUNCTION!!!!
I managed to glimpse Venus-Jupiter conjunction in June 2015, and it was spectacular. One could certainly appreciate how it would attract attention of the ancients! The 2020 Saturn-Jupiter conjunction at sunset on the Winter Solstice (Dec 21) should be spectacular also. Hasn't been seen since Galileo (~800 years ago)! Hope skies are clear!
Christmas Star, Winter Solstice, Galileo--this spectacular stellar event will have something for every one.
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Here's how to see an incredible spectacle that hasn't happened in 800 years.
Jupiter and Saturn Will Form a Rare 'Double Planet' in the Sky Before Christmas
Here's how to see an incredible spectacle that hasn't happened in 800 years.
Tim Childers | Nov 23, 2020
...For the first time since the middle ages, Jupiter and Saturn will become so close to each other in the night sky that they'll appear as a brilliantly bright "double planet." On the winter solstice, December 21, the solar system’s two largest planets will be visibly on top of each other in the western sky.
If you live in the northern hemisphere, you can observe this planetary conjunction setting in the southwestern sky, shortly after sunset. If you’ve been waiting to take out your telescope, this may be the perfect opportunity. Even if you have an amateur telescope with the right eyepiece, you may be able to see the Galilean moons, the bands of Jupiter, and Saturn’s rings, all in one spectacular view.
...In what astronomers are calling a great conjunction, or the meeting of the two biggest worlds in our solar system, the planets will appear perfectly aligned from Earth’s perspective and only be 0.1 degrees apart (that’s only one-fifth the diameter of the moon). The last time Jupiter and Saturn appeared this close was in 1623, just 14 years after Galileo made his first telescope and discovered the moons of Jupiter.
The true solar system alignment of these two gas giants occurred a few weeks ago, but from Earth’s perspective as it quickly orbits the sun, Jupiter and Saturn will appear to inch closer and closer together over the coming weeks. If you take your telescope out early, the planets are already close together and setting later in the night, so you'll have ample opportunities to track their progress.
...The German astronomer Johannes Kepler suggested in 1614 that a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn occurring in 7 B.C. may be what the three wise men in the Nativity Story called the Star of Bethlehem. Whether the famed “Christmas Star” was a real astronomical event, like a planetary conjunction or comet, remains a mystery.
Jupiter and Saturn aren’t the only planets that regularly align. In 2015, Venus and Jupiter came within one-third of a degree apart.
The best time to view the spectacle on December 21 will be around an hour after sunset, right near the constellation Capricorn. Get outside early for the matinee show.
I managed to glimpse Venus-Jupiter conjunction in June 2015, and it was spectacular. One could certainly appreciate how it would attract attention of the ancients! The 2020 Saturn-Jupiter conjunction at sunset on the Winter Solstice (Dec 21) should be spectacular also. Hasn't been seen since Galileo (~800 years ago)! Hope skies are clear!
Christmas Star, Winter Solstice, Galileo--this spectacular stellar event will have something for every one.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's how to see an incredible spectacle that hasn't happened in 800 years.
Jupiter and Saturn Will Form a Rare 'Double Planet' in the Sky Before Christmas
Here's how to see an incredible spectacle that hasn't happened in 800 years.
Tim Childers | Nov 23, 2020
...For the first time since the middle ages, Jupiter and Saturn will become so close to each other in the night sky that they'll appear as a brilliantly bright "double planet." On the winter solstice, December 21, the solar system’s two largest planets will be visibly on top of each other in the western sky.
If you live in the northern hemisphere, you can observe this planetary conjunction setting in the southwestern sky, shortly after sunset. If you’ve been waiting to take out your telescope, this may be the perfect opportunity. Even if you have an amateur telescope with the right eyepiece, you may be able to see the Galilean moons, the bands of Jupiter, and Saturn’s rings, all in one spectacular view.
...In what astronomers are calling a great conjunction, or the meeting of the two biggest worlds in our solar system, the planets will appear perfectly aligned from Earth’s perspective and only be 0.1 degrees apart (that’s only one-fifth the diameter of the moon). The last time Jupiter and Saturn appeared this close was in 1623, just 14 years after Galileo made his first telescope and discovered the moons of Jupiter.
The true solar system alignment of these two gas giants occurred a few weeks ago, but from Earth’s perspective as it quickly orbits the sun, Jupiter and Saturn will appear to inch closer and closer together over the coming weeks. If you take your telescope out early, the planets are already close together and setting later in the night, so you'll have ample opportunities to track their progress.
...The German astronomer Johannes Kepler suggested in 1614 that a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn occurring in 7 B.C. may be what the three wise men in the Nativity Story called the Star of Bethlehem. Whether the famed “Christmas Star” was a real astronomical event, like a planetary conjunction or comet, remains a mystery.
Jupiter and Saturn aren’t the only planets that regularly align. In 2015, Venus and Jupiter came within one-third of a degree apart.
The best time to view the spectacle on December 21 will be around an hour after sunset, right near the constellation Capricorn. Get outside early for the matinee show.
2librorumamans
And if it is overcast locally, there's always Stellarium!
3librorumamans
After playing with Stellarium, I see that at 44°N the show will start just after 6 pm each evening around December 3 as the two planets begin to approach each other. There will perhaps be a bit of a break around December 16 because the Moon will be close and may interfere.
Since the conjunction will be just above the SW horizon, one may need elevation to avoid buildings or trees. By the 21st the Moon will be about midway between Jupiter/Saturn in the SW and Mars in the SE; further past Mars will be Uranus.
Since the conjunction will be just above the SW horizon, one may need elevation to avoid buildings or trees. By the 21st the Moon will be about midway between Jupiter/Saturn in the SW and Mars in the SE; further past Mars will be Uranus.
4margd
>3 librorumamans: Thanks. Trees to west of our MI place so may have to take to our e-w highway--hopefully little traffic. Also that skies are clear! In June 2015, I was lucky, and oh-so-thrilled, to see Jupiter-Venus between scudding clouds. It was bright like an incoming plane.
Interesting to think about what these planets meant to ancients , i.e., how a conjunction could have signified important events.
Per wikipedia:
Astrologically speaking, Jupiter is associated with the principles of growth, expansion, healing, prosperity, good fortune, and miracles. Jupiter governs long distance and foreign travel, big business and wealth, higher education, religion, and the law.
Saturn (Astrology) in Roman mythology, Saturn is the god of agriculture, founder of civilizations and of social order, and conformity.
Astrologically speaking, Venus is associated with the principles of harmony, beauty, refinement, affections, love, and the urge to sympathize and unite with others.
June 2015 conjunction: Jupiter-Venus.
December 2021 conjunction: Jupiter-Sagittarius
Interesting to think about what these planets meant to ancients , i.e., how a conjunction could have signified important events.
Per wikipedia:
Astrologically speaking, Jupiter is associated with the principles of growth, expansion, healing, prosperity, good fortune, and miracles. Jupiter governs long distance and foreign travel, big business and wealth, higher education, religion, and the law.
Saturn (Astrology) in Roman mythology, Saturn is the god of agriculture, founder of civilizations and of social order, and conformity.
Astrologically speaking, Venus is associated with the principles of harmony, beauty, refinement, affections, love, and the urge to sympathize and unite with others.
June 2015 conjunction: Jupiter-Venus.
December 2021 conjunction: Jupiter-Sagittarius
