[ad_1]
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – Last Monday evening, the world witnessed the convergence of the two largest planets in our solar system, Jupiter and Saturn, at a peak for almost 400 years.
And a phenomenon known as “Great Coupling” has created a scattering of light across the night sky, immortalized in many amazing shots from around the world.
He called this astronomical phenomenon the name “Christmas star,” but the fact that this phenomenon occurred a few days before Christmas and coincides with the winter solstice is purely a coincidence of time.
According to the Royal Astronomical Society of the United Kingdom, the two largest planets in the solar system were only 0.1 degrees apart, about one-fifth the diameter of the moon when it was full.
And if you missed this phenomenon on Monday night, or if the sky was not clear at the time you are in, then don’t worry, as it looks like the two planets are diverge very slowly and will stay close. each other over the next few days.
And those close to the equator have the best conditions to observe the astronomical phenomenon.
Jupiter will appear brighter and more easily visible. Jupiter passed Saturn last Monday, and the former will now appear above slightly faint Saturn.
Although the observing instruments can show the two planets, Jupiter and Saturn, close to each other, this is a purely optical effect, as they were separated by about 800 million kilometers on Monday, even though they seemed close to each other from Earth’s point of view.
An exceptionally rare event
According to the Royal Astronomical Society, such close conjunctions are rare, and Jupiter and Saturn were last seen in such close proximity in 1623.
At that time, 397 years ago, the two planets were close to the sun in the sky, so it was difficult to witness the astronomical event.
The association added in a statement that the last time the two planets were so close and easy to see was in 1226, long before the telescope was invented.
If you miss this phenomenon and want to see both planets in the same proximity, it won’t happen until March 15, 2080, then it won’t happen again until 2400.
Astronomer Patrick Hartigan, professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University in Houston, said that the further north you go, the less you can look at the conjunction before the planets disappear below the horizon.
The UK’s Royal Astronomical Society explained that it is important to find a line of sight without tall buildings or trees blocking vision when the planets fall in the southwest after sunset.
When looking with the naked eye, the two planets will appear as bright points of light, while the binoculars will show these two slightly larger points, and viewers may also be able to identify Jupiter’s four largest moons, and possibly the largest moons of Saturn, which is known as the “Titan”.
With a small telescope, the two planets will be in the same field of view, which is an extremely rare event, and the belts of the rings of Jupiter and Saturn will be visible.
Source link
