Jupiter and Saturn Rare Conjunct 15th December 2020

 

Jupiter and Saturn Will Form a Rare 'Double Planet' in the Sky Before Christmas. Here's how to see an incredible spectacle that hasn't happened in 800 years. It’s the first time since the middle ages the planets have aligned this close.

You can see this planetary conjunction on the winter solstice, December 21. The last time Jupiter and Saturn appeared this close was in 1623, just 14 years after Galileo made his first telescope and discovered the moons of Jupiter. You won’t see similar conjunction this close again until March 15, 2080. The German astronomer Kepet in 1614 that the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn occurring in 7 B.C. may be what the three wise men in the Nativity Story called the Star of Bethlehem. Whether the famed “Christmas Star” was a real astronomical event, like planetary conjunction or comet, remains a mystery.