If the skies are clear enough when you are alive, you should plan on staring up early next week to witness what I can only compare to a great cosmic romance. While the pandemic is rampant and your town or town may be buried in a torrent of snow, heaven has promised an escape from the grind here on Earth with a absolutely packed celestial calendar this month.
A great “kiss” between Saturn and Jupiter is ready to deliver something great stargazing on December 21, unmatched in its brilliance since the Middle A.ges. Experts also refer to the phenomenon as a “ poinsettia, ” because we all clearly need a holiday home.
This is why you should mark the event in your calendar and see how you can watch it unfold in a patch of sky near you.
It’s really called the great conjunction
Although called a ‘kiss’ in parlance, the phenomenon has long been referred to as a conjunction by astronomers. It occurs when two planets intersect, or come close enough to each other to appear close from a vantage point on Earth. Aside from taking place on the winter solstice – that is pure coincidence according to NASA– this year’s conjunction has major historical implications.
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According to the space agency, this is the closest conjunction in 400 years:
It has been nearly 400 years since the planets passed this close to each other in the sky, and nearly 800 years since the alignment of Saturn and Jupiter at night, as it will happen before 2020, allowing nearly everyone around the world to witness this “great conjunction.”
As previously reported by Lifehacker, the two planets will be located about 1 degree apart on the kissing peak, which is about 1/5 the diameter of a full moon. NASA puts that picture in perspective, noting that the planets will appear “so close that a pinkie finger at arm’s length can easily cover both planets in the sky.” Don’t be fooled by its appearance in the sky, as the two planets will still be hundreds of millions of miles apart.
It’s a gradual process that takes place over days, but will eventually end on December 21st, perhaps confirming all of your Christmas wonder fantasies. And it could be: According to the space agency, this will be the closest convergence of Saturn and Jupiter since the year 1226.
How does the kiss work, aka conjunction, aka ‘Poinsettia ‘ work?
It is actually a natural product of planetary orbits, and it occurs every 20 years. As Henry Throop, astronomer with the Planetary Science Division of NASA headquarters in Washington, explains in a statement, “You can imagine the solar system as a race track, with each of the planets like a runner in their own orbit and the Earth. towards the center of the stadium. “
Throop explains that a conjunction can occur at any time of the year, but it all depends on planetary positions:
The date of the conjunction is determined by the positions of Jupiter, Saturn, and Earth on their paths around the sun, while the date of the solstice is determined by the tilt of the Earth’s axis. The solstice is the longest night of the year, so this rare coincidence gives people a great opportunity to get out and see the solar system.
How to see it
Fortunately, the conjunction is so close this year that you don’t need a telescope or binoculars to see it. (You could still use them, thoughas they cannot really obstruct your view).
NASA offers a helpful guide to taking in the beautiful scenes:
Find a place with an unobstructed view of the sky, such as a field or park. Jupiter and Saturn are bright, so they can be seen even from most cities.
Watch the southwest sky an hour after sunset. Jupiter looks like a bright star and is easily visible. Saturn will be slightly fainter and will appear slightly above and to the left of Jupiter until December 21, when Jupiter will overtake it and reverse its positions in the sky.
The planets can be seen with the naked eye, but if you have binoculars or a small telescope, you may be able to see Jupiter’s four major moons orbiting the giant planet.
Even if it’s cold outside, you may want to brave the frigid conditions: this is the closest conjunction of the two planets to the year 2080.