Brightest planet conjunction in 800 years on Dec. 21/22

[shunyadragon]

Did not know how to place this interesting coincidence on Dec. 21/22. It is my favorite holiday Winter Solstice. My other is the Spring Equinox.

Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jupiter-saturn-double-planet-great-conjunction-december-21/

Jupiter and Saturn will come within 0.1 degrees of each other, forming the first visible "double planet" in 800 years

Before 2020 comes to a close, Jupiter and Saturn will be so close that they will appear to form a "double planet." The great conjunction, as the planetary alignment has come to be known, hasn't occurred in nearly 800 years.

When their orbits align every 20 years, Jupiter and Saturn get extremely close to one another. This occurs because Jupiter orbits the sun every 12 years, while Saturn's orbit takes 30 years — every couple of decades, Saturn is lapped by Jupiter, according to NASA.

However, 2020's conjunction is especially rare — the planets haven't been observed this close together since medieval times, in 1226.

"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," Rice University astronomer Patrick Hartigan said in a statement. "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."

Aligning with the solstice on December 21, 2020, the two planets will be just 0.1 degrees apart — less than the diameter of a full moon, EarthSky says. The word "conjunction" is used by astronomers to describe the meeting of objects in our night sky, and the great conjunction occurs between the two largest planets in our solar system: Jupiter and Saturn.

The planets will be so close, they will appear to overlap completely, creating a rare "double planet" effect.

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[rogue06]

Actually this happened back in 1623, but that conjunction was too close to the sun to be seen here. The next one will be March, 2080 so nobody (except mossy of course) will be around to see it.