SALT LAKE CITY – With over a dozen international Dark Sky parks and even two Dark Sky communities, Utah is one of the best places to be on the shortest day of the year.
There are plenty of places in the state where you can get great views of the stars when the sun is down. That said, you don’t have to travel too far to see a special cosmic event that hasn’t been visible on Monday for nearly 400 years.
Those interested in viewing the night sky during the first day of winter seem to be in luck when it comes to cloud cover.
Want to watch the ‘Christmas Star’ in Utah? You are lucky
Utahns will be among those who will be able to see a rare cosmic treat of the “great conjunction” visible Monday night, as Jupiter and Saturn will be close enough to the sky and appear almost as one. Some have called it the “Christmas Star” because it is a large, bright star that is new in the sky, similar to the Biblical description of the night Jesus Christ was born. The rare amalgamation of the two planets in the night sky has not occurred since 1623.
“It’s a rare event,” Patrick Wiggins, NASA’s solar system ambassador to Utah, told KSL TV last week. “I’ve warned people not to expect a really flashy event,” Wiggins said. “But it’s something that doesn’t happen that often.”
It is the second once-in-a-lifetime spectacle to be seen in the dark skies this year behind NEOWISE Comet, which was visible in summer for the first time in more than 6,000 years. Unlike the comet, you don’t have to travel to lower lit areas to get a good view.
It’s something that people can enjoy from their backyard.
Cloud cover is, of course, the biggest obstacle to a one-off night sky event. That’s not expected to be a big deal for Utah Monday night. It’s one of the few times that a high-pressure cartridge is welcomed to the state during the winter months.
“We expect clear skies tonight, which is the key. It’s that planetary conjunction – that bright star, that ‘Christmas Star’ that will be visible tonight,” said KSL meteorologist Grant Weyman during a forecast Monday morning.
Mitch Bolen, of the Utah Valley Astronomy Club, explained that the best viewing times on Mondays are between 5:30 PM and 5:45 PM. The conjunction will be visible in the southwestern part of the sky, about 16 degrees above the horizon, he added. It will end around 6:30 pm on Monday.
Some clouds are expected to roll in northern Utah and the Wasatch Front Monday night, but these should not completely cover the sky. They are expected to be up late Monday to Tuesday morning. A storm system that will bring more clouds and possibly some snow to the region is not expected to roll in until later Tuesday.
How much cloud cover are we talking about? Not much in all of Utah. Cloud cover forecast by the National Weather Service indicates that most of the sky will be visible during peak hours. Clearer skies can be found in central and southern Utah.
We’ve had some questions about viewing the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. For those interested, here is the forecast for the canopy covering percentage Monday night. pic.twitter.com/22HSxkyMQp
– NWS Salt Lake City (@NWSSaltLakeCity) December 21, 2020
From 11 a.m. on Monday, the weather service predicts the cloud cover between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Monday:
- Mixture: 10-15%
- Brigham City: 35%
- Cedar City: 5%
- Farmington: 30%
- Fillmore: 5%
- Logan: 35%
- Moab: 10-15%
- Ogden: 35%
- Price: 10%
- Provo: 20%
- Salt Lake City: 30%
- George: 10%
- Tooele: 30%
- Spring: 30-40%
Come for the conjunction, stay for the rest of the stars
For those who would like to enjoy watching the night sky during the remainder of the winter solstice, the weather service projects a relatively low cloud cover in northern Utah through the Wasatch Front from Monday evening through early Tuesday morning. Places like Logan, Brigham City, Ogden, Farmington, Salt Lake City and Provo will range from 15% to 40% during those time frames with slightly more cloud cover in the more northerly parts of the state.
The sky in central and southern Utah will be even clearer. Weather forecasts for areas such as St. George, Cedar City, Fillmore, Richfield, Blanding and Moab range from 5% to 25%. Lower cloud cover rates were forecast in southwest and central Utah, which means there is a high probability that there will be virtually no cloud cover in the sky Monday evening to early Tuesday morning.
Eastern Utah had the most cloud cover forecast. For example, coverage can be 40% to 50% in Vernal. Nonetheless, clouds are not expected to cover most of the sky in the state Monday evening or early Tuesday morning.
For anyone looking for the full “dark sky” experience, Utah has many certified International Dark Sky parks. These are Utah’s Dark Sky International Parks:
Torrey and Helper are also currently the state’s only certified International Dark Sky communities. They are areas where the dark sky is preserved and where stargazing like looking at the Milky Way is better than areas full of light pollution.
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Carter Williams