The ‘Christmas Star’ will be the closest to Jupiter and Saturn in 800 years

The 'Christmas Star' will be the closest to Jupiter and Saturn in 800 years

The great combination of 2020 will brighten the darkest day of the year as the two largest planets in our solar system approach the night sky closer than centuries ago.

Presumably, the day on which the planet and Saturday will appear closest to Earth-based stargazers is December 21, the winter solstice, the longest night of the year in the northern golfers.

The dual planetary scene is also known by some astronomers as the “Christmas Star” because of the belief that the Bethlehem star’s biblical story could have been a planetary combination. However, almost two thousand years ago, Venus and Jupiter were the closest – not Jupiter and Saturn, as is the case with the 2020 “Christmas Star”.

The last time both planets were close was in 1623, but the stargazing conditions meant that the astronomical event was probably not observed by Earth. The last time such a close pair was visible to the naked eye was in 1226. According to Arthasky.

This event is called the “Great Coincidence”. This happens every 20 years in this century because the Earth, Jupiter and Saturn’s cycles from time to time become so consistent that these two outer planets appear together in our night sky.NASA / JPL-Caltech

On the evening of December 15-18, Stargazers can easily see the planet and Saturn moving about 45 minutes after sunset by looking at the waxing crescent moon in the western sky. According to NASAKnight Sky Network.

“Remember when two gases can be giants Revealed Nearby, they are actually hundreds of millions of miles away, “NASA writes.” This will still be a very effective point of view, but you will need to look sharp because both planets will be set up shortly after sunset. “

The moon will be high in the sky on the lonely night of December 21, but Jupiter and Saturn will be close in distance in the western sky and will appear as a big star. From an amateur telescope, however, a stargazer may be able to see both planets and some of their moons clearly within a single perspective.

About the author: Raven Weber

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