Only a Real Scrooge Would Miss Tonight’s ‘Christmas Star’
Here's how to see Jupiter and Saturn get closer than they have in 800 years.
Tonight — the evening of December 21st — is the night. On the Winter Solstice, the two largest planets in our solar system, Jupiter and Saturn will appear to cross paths in the night sky. They will align more perfectly in the night sky than they have since 1623. No one saw that alignment thanks to the glare of the sun, so if you catch a glimpse of it this year you’ll actually be seeing something no person has beheld since March 4, 1226, nearly eight centuries ago.
This kind of alignment is known as a conjunction, and it’s when Saturn and Jupiter appear to cross paths in the night sky. It’s known as the Great Conjunction. And given its proximity to the Christmas holiday this year (and the importance of a bright celestial body to that particular story) this particular instance is known as The Christmas Star.
Saturn and Jupiter are the slowest and second slowest moving planets in the solar system respectively, which means the Great Conjunction is the rarest of the bright-planet conjunctions. Every year, Saturn moves 12 degrees around the Sun while Jupiter makes it about 30 degrees. That means Jupiter makes up about 18 degrees each year — and that it takes 20 years for its orbit to catch up to Saturn’s — which is why there’s a Great Conjunction every 20 years.
This year’s conjunction is remarkable because of just how close the two planets will come. The two planets will be just 0.1 degrees apart, about one-fifth of the full moon’s diameter, at their closest. For us on Earth, it might look like they’re literally on top of each other.
To catch a glimpse of the so-called Double Planet yourself, you’ll need to point a telescope toward the southwestern sky at twilight. The planets will be low on the horizon, which isn’t ideal for viewing, but you should still be able to see it barring any clouds. Those living nearer the equator will have better views, as the planets will be higher in the night sky from their vantage point.
The next Great Conjunction will happen on Halloween of 2040, but the next time the two planets will appear this close will be March 15, 2080. So, it really might be your only chance — unless you plan on kicking it for another 60 years.
