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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) – Jupiter and Saturn will merge in the night sky on Monday, appearing closer to each other than they have been since Galileo’s time in the 17th century.
Astronomers say that the so-called conjunctions between the two largest planets in our solar system are not particularly rare. Jupiter crosses its neighbor Saturn in their respective turns around the sun every 20 years.
But the one that is coming is particularly close: Jupiter and Saturn will be separated by a tenth of a degree from our point of view, or about a fifth of the width of a full moon. They should be easily visible to the world shortly after sunset, weather permitting.
Kick off the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, the longest night of the year – and the Summer Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere – and this show just in time for Christmas promises to be one of the greater conjunctions.
“What is rarer is a close conjunction that occurs in our night sky,” said David Weintraub of Vanderbilt University, professor of astronomy. “I think it is fair to say that such an event can usually happen only once in a person’s life, and I think ‘once in my life’ is a very good test of whether something thing deserves to be called rare or special. “
This will be the closest Jupiter-Saturn pairing since July 1623, when the two planets appeared a little closer. This conjunction, however, was almost impossible to see due to its proximity to the sun.
The conjunction of the two planets in March 1226 was much closer and more visible – when Genghis Khan conquered Asia. Monday’s conjunction will be the closest visible pairing since the time.
Saturn and Jupiter have been approaching in the southwestern sky for weeks. Jupiter – bigger and closer to Earth – is much brighter.
“I love seeing them come closer and closer to each other and the fact that I can see it with my bare eyes from my back porch!” Virginia Tech astronomer Nahum Arav said in an email.
To see it, be ready soon after sunset Monday, looking southwest quite low on the horizon. Saturn will be the smallest and weakest drop at the top right of Jupiter. Binoculars will be needed to separate the two planets.
Despite appearances, Jupiter and Saturn will actually be more than 730 million kilometers apart. Earth, meanwhile, will be 550 million miles (890 million kilometers) from Jupiter.
A telescope will not only capture Jupiter and Saturn in the same field of view, but even some of their brightest moons.
Their next very close match: March 15, 2080.
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The Associated Press’s Department of Health and Science receives support from the Department of Science Education at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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