Set your alarm on your phones for sunset today. A once in 800 year event.

[Fla Dem]

The Great Conjunction

Jupiter and Saturn will kiss tonight in the "Great Conjunction".

So at, or just after sunset, if your skies are clear look to the SW just over the horizon. Watch video at link for more info.

The Monday doodle honors the Winter Solstice, which takes place on Dec. 21 and marks the shortest day and longest night of the year. It also commemorates the Great Conjunction, an event during which the two largest planets in our solar system – Jupiter and Saturn – will nearly overlap to form a "double planet."

The Monday doodle honors the Winter Solstice, which takes place on Dec. 21 and marks the shortest day and longest night of the year. It also commemorates the Great Conjunction, an event during which the two largest planets in our solar system – Jupiter and Saturn – will nearly overlap to form a "double planet."

How rare is this occurrence? The last time a close conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn was seen by humans was 1226.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2020/12/21/winter-solstice-and-great-conjunction-google-doodle-celebrates/3988710001/

[Buckeye_Democrat]

1. I might need to wait a few more centuries.

And I could be dead by then.

The sky where I live:

[spinbaby]

2. Same here

Western PA is famous for gloomy gray winters.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

4. Years ago, my brother told some coworkers...

... in Colorado about the overcast skies in Ohio that stretched from horizon to horizon sometimes, so completely gray that neither the Sun nor the details of the clouds could be seen. It was just one broad stretch of gray across the sky.

He said that several of them who always lived out there didn't believe it!

[Fla Dem]

3. My brother up in Massachusetts, just sent me a text with the same update.

Looking at my weather app, it would appear that a lot of the US will have cloud cover early evening.

[Wicked Blue]

6. After all, this is 2020

The year that will go down in history as the Dumpster Fire year.

Cloudy here in Maryland too.

[localroger]

5. Saw it Friday

Weather forecast was for rain all weekend. It's partly cloudy now (near New Orleans), might get to see closest approach tonight. But already got long neglected 4 in reflector on it and saw rings of Saturn and a couple of Jupiter's moons in same eyepiece field wow.

[CatMor]

7. Thick cloud cover over Western New York ... no chance of viewing it.

I'm so disappointed.

[elleng]

8. Going down the road in a little bit;

surprisingly, sky CLEARED today.

Just caught the SUN setting.

[fierywoman]

9. Pouring rain (not drizzling, pouring) in the Pac NW right now.

[shenmue]

10. Smoochin' planets

[Ron Obvious]

11. Sadly, it's very Pacific Northwesty weather here today...

Why couldn't they schedule this for the summer!?

Grumble, grumble...

[sinkingfeeling]

12. Totally clouded over here.

[progree]

13. One has to get out and look no more than 1 1/2 hours after sunset, the earlier the better

as long as its not too light

I hope people aren't too disappointed, it's not all that visually much. Saturn isn't very bright. Visually its going to be no different than Jupiter near a regular bright star, which happens often. And it will be not much above the horizon even at twilight.

And remember that one has to get out an hour or at most two after sunset to see it, otherwise it will be set or very near setting.

There's nothing all that magical about December 21 as far as this thing -- they will be just a little bit closer than on say the 19th or 20th or 22nd or 23rd or 24th or 25th. It's not like a fucking eclipse where a miss is as good as a mile. So one should try to look for it early in the evening when one can starting tonight of course, but they will be very very close to each other the next several nights, still probably closer than has been seen in centuries, just not quite as close as the 21st.

I haven't been able to see it for nearly 2 weeks because of cloudy weather and being kind of low on the horizon and the 2 hour max early evening window (Minneapolis)