Monday night features the Jupiter and Saturn 'double planet.' Here's how to see it.

[elleng]

Clouds may obscure viewing in the northern and southern U.S., with better prospects in the nation’s midsection.

On Monday night, Jupiter and Saturn will pair up in the southwestern sky, appearing closer than they have in more than 800 years in some areas. It’s officially known as a “great conjunction,” but many are hailing it as a “Christmas star,” the spectacle coinciding with the winter solstice.

The cosmic rendezvous will be most prominently visible during twilight in the two hours immediately after sunset. Thereafter, the duo will disappear below the horizon.

If clouds obscure your view Monday, don’t fret. The proximate planets will be visible nearby for the next few nights, albeit at a slightly greater distance from each other.

Monday night’s spectacle will also be streamed online via the Virtual Telescope Project, Lowell Observatory, Vanderbilt University and Slooh, among others.

For those looking to enjoy the show, telescopes aren’t required. Simply look to the west-southwest about 30 minutes after sunset. Jupiter will shine brightly to the left, with Saturn, a touch dimmer, adjacent to the right.

They will appear extremely close — only about a quarter the width of the full moon apart from each other.

To make the show even more spectacular, the half-illuminated moon will shine high above and to the left of the two planets, with Mars even farther up along that diagonal line.'>>>

https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/12/21/jupiter-saturn-conjunction-weather-clouds/?

[hauckeye]

1. Darn it, clouds tonight in SE Wisconsin

[Clash City Rocker]

2. My college astronomy teacher suggested that the Star of David may have been something like that

Two planets went into retrograde and a third planet passed between them around 2 AD, if I recall correctly. And we know about it because Chinese astronomers, who were the best in the world at the time, documented it. The wise men who saw the Star came from the East.

My teacher said that if our calendar is only off two years after two millennia, that’s pretty good.

[wryter2000]

3. Bookmarking

Thanks!