[ad_1]
Saturn and Jupiter behind the Statue of Liberty in New York before their twinning (Getty)
Jupiter and Saturn are linked in the night sky next Monday, to be closer to each other than at any time since the days of famous astronomer Galileo Galileo in the 17th century.
Astronomers have said that coupling between the two largest planets in our solar system is not uncommon, as Jupiter passes its neighbor Saturn in their successive orbits around the sun every twenty years.
But the next conjunction is very close, as the two planets will only be one-tenth of a degree from our perspective, or about one-fifth the size of the full moon. They will be easily seen around the world shortly after sunset weather permitting.
Against this background, David Weintraub, professor of astronomy at Vanderbilt University, said: “The rarest is the close conjunction that will occur in our night sky. I think it is fair to say that such an event can occur once in a person’s life which makes it “rare”. Or very private. “
It will be the closest conjunction of the two planets since July 1623, when the two planets appeared slightly closer. But this conjunction was difficult to see because of its proximity to the sun.
The clearest and closest conjunction dates back to March 1226, when Genghis Khan invaded Asia. Next Monday’s pairing will be the closest visible pairing since.
To see the pairing, prepare shortly after sunset Monday, looking southwest from the horizon.
Saturn will be smaller and less luminous than Jupiter and will be located at the top right of Jupiter.
Despite their appearance, Jupiter and Saturn will actually be 450 million kilometers from each other. While the Earth will be 550 million kilometers from Jupiter.
The next close pairing will take place on March 15, 2080.
(Associated press)
[ad_2]
Source link
