21 a "conjunction." From asteroids or moons to planets and stars, a conjunction is when two objects in space appear to be close to each other as observed from Earth. “You’d have to go all the way back to just before dawn on March 4, 1226, to see a closer alignment between these objects visible in the night sky.”Īstronomers call what we'll witness on Dec. “Alignments between these two planets are rather rare, occurring once every 20 years or so, but this conjunction is exceptionally rare because of how close the planets will appear to one another,” Hartigan said. They will appear to be almost a "double planet," said Rice University astronomer Patrick Hartigan. If you gaze into the southwestern horizon at the right time, the two gas giants will look like neighboring points of light.
21 than they have been since the Middle Ages. This year's winter solstice will bring a rare sight to our night skies – just in time for the holidays.įor Earth viewers, Jupiter and Saturn will appear closer to each other on Dec. Have a happy holiday season and stay safe and healthy.Watch Video: Astronomy: Jupiter and Saturn will meet in this rare cosmic conjunction You can also enjoy the view when the clouds clear as the two planets will remain close, and moving apart, until they are no longer visible due to being lower in the sky and in bright skies. You can tune in to Carnegie Astronomy’s live coverage of the Great Conjunction starting at 8 p.m. If it is “No Joy” (in other words, the clouds win) all is not lost. Chance of precipitation is 40%.”Įven with this forecast it is worth a visual look to see if there are any breaks in the clouds. Quite frankly, our weather in the DMV for Monday looks to be poor with the National Weather Service forecasting “A chance of rain showers before 1 a.m., then a slight chance of rain and snow showers.
#Jupiter saturn conjunction 2020 astrology how to#
Here are tips from NASA on how to photograph this sky treat which can be done with any camera. Amateur telescopes properly adjusted will be able to view Jupiter and Saturn in the same field of view.
If you have binoculars it will enhance the view but the real treat comes with viewing in a telescope.
#Jupiter saturn conjunction 2020 astrology free#
Pick a viewing spot that has a clear view of the horizon and is free of trees, buildings and bright lights. To view this celestial spectacle is easy, just look in the southwest sky as it gets dark after sunset. And because this planetary conjunction is so close between Jupiter and Saturn it is known as a Great Conjunction. The amount of daylight begins to increase each day following the Winter Solstice but the nights are long to enjoy the sky.Īstronomers call close groupings of astronomical objects conjunctions. EST, it is the Winter Solstice, the start of winter in the Northern hemisphere. And to make this even more special, on the 21st at 5:02 a.m.
They will be so close as to appear as a double planet. They were similarly close in 1623, but likely not easily visible due to their close proximity to the sun. The last time these two planets were this close, and visible, was 1226. 21, they will be visible in the southwest and at their closest approach to one another - a tenth-of-a-degree apart. Even though they are separated by hundreds of millions of miles in the solar system, they have been moving closer and closer to one another in our sky for quite awhile. In reality these are the two giant gas planets, Jupiter, the brighter of the two, and Saturn. If you have been outside recently after it gets dark, you might have noticed a bright pair of “stars” in the sky lying southwest - or left - of where the sun sets.
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