Astronomy buffs of Indiana, you’re certainly not going to want to miss this! On December 21st, coincidentally falling upon the winter solstice, we’ll be treated to a celestial event that hasn’t been seen by human eyes for over 800 years.
Although it’s being called the “Christmas Star,” it’s not a star at all. What we’ll be able to witness is what’s called a “conjunction” of planets - the planets in this case being Jupiter and Saturn.
Encyclopædia Britannica In astronomy, a conjunction occurs when two or more celestial bodies (planets, moons, or stars) appear to pass by one another. For example, during a new moon, the sun and moon are in conjunction with one another. They are lined up from our perspective here on Earth.
The dazzling result of this conjunction event will be two large, bright planets in the night sky appearing so close to one another that they seem like they could touch. The planets will sit just 0.1 degrees apart in the sky for a short time.
Radoslaw Ziomber/Wikimedia Incredibly, although Jupiter is approximately 500 million miles away from Earth (and Saturn nearly twice that!), the two planets are visible to our naked eyes. If you have a telescope, however, this is probably one of the best possible times to bring it out.
You may wonder how it’s possible to see something so far away with our naked eyes. Well, if you look at the sizes of the planets in our solar system below, we here on Earth are that little third rock from the left. Those enormous ones in the middle are Jupiter and Saturn - to scale.
GDJ/Open Clipart Compared to planet Earth, they are incomprehensibly enormous. So enormous, in fact, that when compared to the sun…
…They’re about this big.
Tumisu/Pixabay Considering you can see the (enormous) sun from Earth as well, you may just get a feel for the incredible size of these planets, and why they’re so highly visible!
Of the planets making up this special “Christmas Star,” Jupiter will be the larger of the two as it’s closer to us (and twice the size of Saturn).
GDJ/Open Clipart The last time this happened was around the year 1226 A.D. That’s still a generation or two before the European renaissance began! After December 21st, 2020, the next time to see this kind of celestial wonder will be around 2080.
It’s incredible to realize that as you’re looking up at these two planets, literally millions and millions of miles away, you are gazing into interstellar space.
Ann Dirkse/Wikimedia Few things are quite as humbling as the immensity of the surrounding universe. Our tiny planet is so very, very small compared to everything else - but it’s home, and from home, we can see some pretty cool stuff in the skies above.
Hoosiers interested in watching the “Christmas Star” line up should look into the southwest sky about 45 minutes after sunset. Sunset occurs in Indiana at 5:24 p.m. on December 21st, so it would be wise to head outside and start looking at around 6:09 p.m.
Encyclopædia Britannica
In astronomy, a conjunction occurs when two or more celestial bodies (planets, moons, or stars) appear to pass by one another. For example, during a new moon, the sun and moon are in conjunction with one another. They are lined up from our perspective here on Earth.
Radoslaw Ziomber/Wikimedia
Incredibly, although Jupiter is approximately 500 million miles away from Earth (and Saturn nearly twice that!), the two planets are visible to our naked eyes. If you have a telescope, however, this is probably one of the best possible times to bring it out.
GDJ/Open Clipart
Compared to planet Earth, they are incomprehensibly enormous. So enormous, in fact, that when compared to the sun…
Tumisu/Pixabay
Considering you can see the (enormous) sun from Earth as well, you may just get a feel for the incredible size of these planets, and why they’re so highly visible!
The last time this happened was around the year 1226 A.D. That’s still a generation or two before the European renaissance began! After December 21st, 2020, the next time to see this kind of celestial wonder will be around 2080.
Ann Dirkse/Wikimedia
Few things are quite as humbling as the immensity of the surrounding universe. Our tiny planet is so very, very small compared to everything else - but it’s home, and from home, we can see some pretty cool stuff in the skies above.
What was the most amazing natural event you’ve ever watched? Tell us about it in the comments!
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