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Two giant worlds are about to collide. Kind of.
Jupiter and Saturn meet this month. It’s something they do every 20 years, this year only the neighboring planets will appear closer to each other on the dome of our sky than at any time since the Middle Ages.
Jupiter is already the brightest star-shaped object an Earthman can see in the evening sky. But on December 21, Jupiter and Saturn will be so close to each other that they will appear as an intensely shining point of light forming what some call “the Christmas Star” or “the Star of Bethlehem”.
“Jupiter circles the sun every 12 years. Saturn circulates every 30 years. What this means to us is that when we look up in our sky, Jupiter and Saturn take notice. We call it a conjunction, ”said Mike Hennessy, director of the Buhl Planetarium at the Carnegie Science Center on the north coast of Pittsburgh. “It’s when planets or other objects appear very close to each other. But this one is very special because it is an excellent conjunction.
So how can we say that these two planets will be “close”, while they will remain 403 million kilometers from each other?
“They are closer than usual in space and they will appear close to each other because of our perspective on Earth,” Hennessy said. “Since the summer, Saturn has been chasing Jupiter in the night sky, essentially.
“You can think of it as two runners and Jupiter is on an indoor track around the sun and Saturn is on an outdoor track. But they’re at the points in their eye sockets where they’re almost neck-and-neck now as they circle the sun. So that’s what they would be closest to each other, ”Hennessy said.
Here’s another way of thinking: Jupiter and Saturn will combine to form the optical equivalent of one-fifth the diameter of the full moon in the night sky.
And Jupiter and Saturn will be so close that astronomers will be able to see them together through a telescope, according to Lou Coban, electronics technician / administrator of the Allegheny Observatory at the University of Pittsburgh. Coban said concerns over covid-19 would prevent people from being allowed into the observatory, but would have the opportunity to see many from their homes.
“If you look at them with a modest telescope, even a small telescope or a pair of binoculars, you will be able to see two of the largest planets in the solar system in the same field of view of an eyepiece,” Coban said. “You should be able to see the rings of Saturn and the moons around Jupiter.”
Hennessy said it was a particularly good year to see Saturn’s rings.
“Saturn’s rings are actually extremely thin. Believe it or not, they average only 30 feet thick, ”Hennessy said. “Some years it’s hard to see the rings, but this year you can. The rings of Saturn are going to be tilted towards the Earth so that you can see the north face of the rings very well.
Hennessy said the best time to view the conjunction on Dec. 21 is at dusk, between 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., looking southwest.
“I think it’s exciting because, to me, a heavenly event like this is a reminder for people to look up and enjoy the sky that we all share,” Hennessy said. “It’s fun to think of looking at Jupiter and Saturn right now through a telescope, which we carry on in the tradition of Galileo.”
The next big conjunction won’t happen again until 2080, according to Coban.
“I like to tell people to put duct tape on their socks because it will knock their socks off,” Coban said.
Paul Guggenheimer is a staff writer for Tribune-Review. You can contact Paul at 724-226-7706 or [email protected].
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