For the first time in 800 years, you can watch a "great conjunction" of Jupiter and Saturn [View all]

[BainsBane]

Jupiter and Saturn are due to converge in their orbits on Monday, appearing as a double planet in the night sky — the first such occurrence in almost 800 years.

The two planets have been near one another throughout the year, according to Rice University astronomer Patrick Hartigan. They will reach their closest approach, passing within 0.1 degrees of each other during the winter solstice on December 21, the longest night of the year.

The two celestial bodies pass one another about every 20 years, according to the Mount Wilson Observatory, in Los Angeles County, in what is referred to as a “great conjunction,” because they are the two largest planets.

But a passage as close as the one expected Monday has happened only a handful of times in the last two millennia. And two of those occurrences, one in 769 and one in 1623, happened too close to the sun to be seen with the unaided eye.

The last time a person could clearly see this event was on March 4, 1226. . .

Depending on weather conditions, however, those in the Northern Hemisphere should be able to glimpse the planets at twilight, for about an hour after sunset, by looking to the southwest.

https://www.vox.com/2020/12/19/22190612/jupiter-saturn-align-great-conjunction-double-planet-800-years