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Jupiter-Saturn Conjunction of 2020

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
Visible to the naked eye right now, peak on the 21st. Once in 800 years event.



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The ‘Great’ Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn
Skywatchers are in for an end-of-year treat. What has become known popularly as the “Christmas Star” is an especially vibrant planetary conjunction easily visible in the evening sky over the next two weeks as the bright planets Jupiter and Saturn come together, culminating on the night of Dec. 21.

In 1610, Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei pointed his telescope to the night sky, discovering the four moons of Jupiter – Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. In that same year, Galileo also discovered a strange oval surrounding Saturn, which later observations determined to be its rings. These discoveries changed how people understood the far reaches of our solar system.

Thirteen years later, in 1623, the solar system’s two giant planets, Jupiter and Saturn, traveled together across the sky. Jupiter caught up to and passed Saturn, in an astronomical event known as a “Great Conjunction.”

“You can imagine the solar system to be a racetrack, with each of the planets as a runner in their own lane and the Earth toward the center of the stadium,” said Henry Throop, astronomer in the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “From our vantage point, we’ll be able to be to see Jupiter on the inside lane, approaching Saturn all month and finally overtaking it on December 21.”

The planets regularly appear to pass each other in the solar system, with the positions of Jupiter and Saturn being aligned in the sky about once every 20 years.

What makes this year’s spectacle so rare, then? It’s 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 occurred at night, as it will for 2020, allowing nearly everyone around the world to witness this “great conjunction.”

The closest alignment will appear just a tenth of a degree apart and last for a few days. On the 21st, they will appear so close that a pinkie finger at arm’s length will easily cover both planets in the sky. The planets will be easy to see with the unaided eye by looking toward the southwest just after sunset.

From our vantage point on Earth the huge gas giants will appear very close together, but they will remain hundreds of millions of miles apart in space. And while the conjunction is happening on the same day as the winter solstice, the timing is merely a coincidence, based on the orbits of the planets and the tilt of the Earth.

“Conjunctions like this could happen on any day of the year, depending on where the planets are in their orbits,” said Throop. “The date of the conjunction is determined by the positions of Jupiter, Saturn, and the Earth in their paths around the Sun, while the date of the solstice is determined by the tilt of Earth’s axis. The solstice is the longest night of the year, so this rare coincidence will give people a great chance to go outside and see the solar system.”

Want to learn when and where to look up? Join Throop as he talks about the “Great Conjunction” on #NASAScience Live Thursday, Dec. 17. Submit your questions by using #askNASA. The NASA Science Live episode will air live at 3 p.m. EST Thursday on NASA Television and the agency's website, along with the NASA Facebook, YouTube, and Periscope channels.

For those who would like to see this phenomenon for themselves, here’s what to do:

  • Find a spot 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.
  • An hour after sunset, look to the southwestern sky. Jupiter will look like a bright star and be 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 they will reverse positions in the sky.
  • The planets can be seen with the unaided eye, but if you have binoculars or a small telescope, you may be able to see Jupiter’s four large moons orbiting the giant planet.
Each night, the two planets will appear closer low in the southwest in the hour after sunset as illustrated in the below graphic:

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Stouffers

Banned
I had an alarm to go see it at 6, but think I’ll hold off until tomorrow and Monday. I want maximum conjunction.. like Saturn all up in Jupiter’s business.
 

MadAnon

Member
Was waiting for this but haven't seen a clear sky for over a week. Weather forecast isn't looking good either "lollipop_disappointed:
 
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TrainedRage

Banned
This is part of a ritual that started on September 11th. We are currently at the half way point between two eclipses one happened in 2016 the other is around 2023.

However the ritual won’t be over until 2041, you should expect a mirroring of events that happens as opposites.

If you don’t believe me look up the engineer Maurice Cotterell.

The actual celestial event people are mistaking this for is when Venus switches rotation again. That won’t happen for a while.

What we need to be looking at is the sun and the frequency it puts out. How that effects copper and iron and in turn humans.
 
This is bad shit. Saturn and Jupiter are like Earth's body guards. If they're out back having a crafty fag, then we're left open to get cosmically bitch slapped by a meteor.

Ben Affleck, Save us!
 

lock2k

Banned
This is part of a ritual that started on September 11th. We are currently at the half way point between two eclipses one happened in 2016 the other is around 2023.

However the ritual won’t be over until 2041, you should expect a mirroring of events that happens as opposites.

If you don’t believe me look up the engineer Maurice Cotterell.

The actual celestial event people are mistaking this for is when Venus switches rotation again. That won’t happen for a while.

What we need to be looking at is the sun and the frequency it puts out. How that effects copper and iron and in turn humans.
images
 

Nitty_Grimes

Made a crappy phPBB forum once ... once.
Managed to catch a look at it last night here in UK. Today’s a write off already, heavy rain for the day.
 

epicnemesis

Member
So in LA, I basically just look up and spot the bright dot next to the moon tomorrow? If I have a strong pair of binoculars will I be able to see the color of the planets?
 

Nitty_Grimes

Made a crappy phPBB forum once ... once.
So in LA, I basically just look up and spot the bright dot next to the moon tomorrow? If I have a strong pair of binoculars will I be able to see the color of the planets?

I think there’s a bit of romantic licence used on the above. Certainly when I saw it last night moon didn’t seem so close.

Basically where sun sets you should see it about an hour after.
 
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Barakov

Member
Wasn't the world supposed to change today or something? In my part of the world the sun just came out and it's a little warmer than usual. I'll take that over all of reality changing or whatever.
 
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