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An extremely rare chance to see an astonishing planetary alignment will present itself to astronomers this Christmas.
The two gas giants of Jupiter and Saturn – the two largest planets in our solar system – will appear closer to each other in the night sky than they have in nearly 800 years.
The planets can be seen at their closest just after sunset on December 21, the Mirror reports.
Patrick Hartigan, an astronomer at Rice University, said: “Alignments between these two planets are rather rare, occurring once every 20 years or so, but this conjunction is exceptionally rare due to the proximity of the planets.
“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.
The two planets have been moving closer in Earth’s sky since the summer and will be separated by less than the diameter of a full moon from December 16 to 25.
Professor Hartigan explained, “On the evening of the closest approach on December 21, they will look like a double planet, separated by only 1/5 the diameter of the full moon.
“For most viewers, each planet and several of their larger moons will be visible in the same field of view that evening.”
While the best viewing conditions will be near the equator, the eagle-eyed Britons should also be able to see the rare alignment.
“The farther north a viewer is, the less time they will have to see the conjunction before the planets sink below the horizon,” said Professor Hartigan.
If you miss the rare event, you will have a long wait until the next close roster.
Jupiter and Saturn will then appear as close and high on March 15, 2089. After that, the pair will not be as close until 2400.
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