Posted on 12/21/2020 2:25:40 PM PST by ETL
THE GREAT CONJUNCTION OF JUPITER AND SATURN: Want to see something that astronomers have been waiting 800 years to witness? Just step outside at sunset and look southwest. Jupiter and Saturn are having their finest conjunction since the Middle Ages--and they're bright. Bertrand Kulik sends this picture from Paris:
"On Dec. 20th, the planets were visible right beside the Eiffel Tower," says Kulik. "It was a magical view!"
At closest approach on Dec. 21st, the two planets will lie just 0.1 degrees apart. That’s so close, some people will perceive them as a single brilliant star. Viewed through binoculars or a small telescope, Saturn will appear as close to Jupiter as some of Jupiter’s moons.
source:
https://spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=21&month=12&year=2020
Taken by Daisuke Tomiyasu on December 21, 2020 @ Kobe, Hyogo, Japan
source: spaceweather.com - photo gallery
https://spaceweathergallery.com/indiv_upload.php?upload_id=171021
source: spaceweather.com - photo gallery:
https://spaceweathergallery.com/indiv_upload.php?upload_id=171049
WOW!
Too bad we can’t see it that way by unaided eye, as opposed to two bright star-like objects.
We’re sooo overcast you can’t see anything but haze!
I’d be happy just to see the two this close together!
Fortunately it’s not a one-day event. The two will remain close for weeks.
Darn, I’m not sure where to look!
They may look close together in the sky. In reality Saturn is roughly 500 million miles behind Jupiter, which, coincidentally, is about the same current distance between Jupiter and Earth.
If you think of the solar system as a circular race track (Jupiter in lane 5, Saturn lane 6), Jupiter is currently passing Saturn on the inside lane.
“I’m not sure where to look!”
Look SouthWest, during about the first hour after sunset.
Look west, close to the horizon, at 45 minutes past sunset.
Darn, I’m not sure where to look!
Is
Cool
When I look at Jupiter, it is too bright to see anything but a hint of the orange band. Saturn shows up exactly like that picture. Just a more dim to let the detail show.
Look toward the west for the brightest (by far) star-like object you can find. It may appear to be one object but it is actually the two planets. Note that they are setting fairly early now, around 6PM.
The pair has been setting earlier and earlier each night because, from our point of view on Earth, as we orbit round the Sun, it (the Sun) has been slowly creeping into their area of the sky. In a week or so the two planets will start becoming much more difficult to observe. Soon afterward the Sun will come between us and them and we will not be able to observe them at all.
MtnClimber, please feel free to link your list to this thread.
Get the App, Sky Guide. Will open whole new worlds, many, many of them to you. I think it cost $3.
Download the free app Sky Guide onto your phone. It’s available for both iPhone and Android/Google Play.
Father and son at an awkward Christmas
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