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Last night, as the sky darkened, I took a look at Jupiter and Saturn in the western sky. They have now moved closer but are still noticeable as two separate planets. This beautiful site, something humans haven’t been able to observe for about 800 years in medieval times, will continue as the planets shift position and move further apart after Monday.
Although this is all happening up there, if we have cloud cover, we won’t see it.
Later on Saturday, high clouds will start to increase as low pressure approaches. It’s really a race between the darkening sky and the arrival of the clouds, and it seems to me that the clouds will win. We will see some high clouds at the start so there is a chance if you are in a dark area you will be able to see both planets through the clouds around 5pm on Saturday night.
On Sunday, a rather weak system approached the area with a few rain showers or scattered snow. The snow would be relegated to the colder regions of the north and west. It is a very harmless system but will bring cloudiness, which means there is no way to see the conjunction on Sunday night.
On the map below, the value of 100 represents complete cloud cover. Most of New England is completely cloudy just after sunset on Sunday. It is an unfortunate time for sky watchers.
Another small weather system will affect the area on Monday and I think it will keep us cloudy that night as well. You can start to see where this is going, because the best three nights of the conjunction will be above the clouds, and we’ll be stranded without being able to see it here. All is not lost, however, as I think it will start to clear up on Tuesday night.
While the two planets aren’t as close on Tuesday as they were during Winter Solstice, it will still be a great sight, provided my forecast is right. The weather actually seems more choppy for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so those two nights probably won’t be a good time to have a good look either.
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