It's the night of the Christmas Star to shine bright in the sky tonight. The great conjunction between Saturn and Jupiter is taking place tonight, December 21. Called as Winter Solstice Great Conjunction, this is going to be one of the rarest events we can witness in the sky for years to come. The two bright planets come so close to each other on the night of December 21 after 800 years! So it is no surprise, that people are staring at the sky tonight with their eyes wide, to see the Christmas Star or the ‘Star of Bethlehem’. Those who have spotted it already are sharing photos of it on their social media accounts. #jupitersaturnconjunction, #ChristmasStar are trending topics on Twitter with pictures of the Great Conjunction.
Jupiter and Saturn align every 20 years or so-called the ‘great conjunction’. But today, it will be the closest the planets have been since 1623. In reality, the two planets are almost 400 million miles away from each other. From the earth's perspective, they appear as one, or a double star. There are several channels holding a live streaming of the celestial activity right now. If you want to know how it is looking to the naked eye, check out the pictures being shared online.
Check Photos of Winter Solstice Great Conjunction 2020:
Two Planets Coming Close
Astronomical event
21 December 2020#jupitersaturnconjunction pic.twitter.com/jR9X1wCI9P
— Debasish Dey (@DeyDebasish) December 21, 2020
Jupiter's Moon and Saturn's Rings!
#jupitersaturnconjunction on Dec 20. Getting close! Took some fine balancing of exposure to get Jupiter's dim moons and Saturn's rings to come out on one image. Photo taken in S Fla with D500 and #Nikon 200-500 lens at 500mm. #nikonphotography pic.twitter.com/KVpHVQ1gt3
— SK (@eessqwire) December 21, 2020
Winter Solstice Great Conjunction
The day of Winter Solstice and the Great Conjunction. #jupitersaturnconjunction pic.twitter.com/5C6I9IjP9A
— Nishant (@NishantSinha88) December 21, 2020
Almost There
The Great junction is here.......#jupitersaturnconjunction
At last got a beautiful pic in 2020.... 🤩 pic.twitter.com/f1IWNYEouY
— ∆mrit Pritam Mohanty (@____amrit_03___) December 21, 2020
Kissing Stars
The Great conjunction #jupitersaturnconjunction #Jupiter #saturn #thegreatconjunction pic.twitter.com/pWRzv2Ct2H
— Magician Sarvesh (@magiciansarvesh) December 21, 2020
An Hour Before
#TheStarOfBethlehem - #jupitersaturnconjunction after 800 years. Another hour or so before they are completely aligned.#Dagshai #HimachalPradesh#India pic.twitter.com/b3rujBkXpk
— Sheebani Sethi (@sheebanisethi) December 21, 2020
Pics of The Two Planets Getting Closer
#jupitersaturnconjunction The best shots that I could get! 😊 #Planet #Science #Sky pic.twitter.com/A9iuPtTlmY
— 𝐑𝐀𝐌 𝐊.𝐒 (@stellar_ram) December 21, 2020
It may look like a star shining bright, but if you have an access to a telescope, you can see the planets distinctly. Jupiter's four moons can be seen with a zoom lens. To watch the rings of Saturn, one would need special equipment. The next time, we would see such a close conjunction would be by 2080!
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 21, 2020 06:56 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).