Jupiter and Saturn will form a ‘double planet’ before Christmas

Jupiter and Saturn will align in December to create a seemingly “double planet” in the night sky – and this will happen just before Christmas.

What’s going on?

Popular Mechanics reports that Jupiter and Saturn will align for the first time in centuries. In fact, the two planets haven’t been so close since the Middle Ages.

• The two planets will appear as a double planet on December 21 – the winter solstice.
• The two planets will be separated by less than the diameter of the moon from December 15 to December 25.

Key quote:

• “Alignments between these two planets are rather rare, occurring once every 20 years or so, but this conjunction is exceptionally rare due to the closeness of the planets to each other,” the astronomer said. Rice University Patrick Hartigan, according to SciTech Daily. “We would have to go back to dawn on March 4, 1226 to see a closer alignment between these objects visible in the night sky.

When to see him?

The two planets will align after sunset in the northern hemisphere. Saturn and Jupiter will appear together in the southwestern part of the sky, according to Yahoo! Finance.