{"id":12022,"date":"2020-12-21T11:57:04","date_gmt":"2020-12-21T18:57:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lasvegasbuffetclub.com\/blog\/?p=12022"},"modified":"2020-12-29T20:52:41","modified_gmt":"2020-12-30T03:52:41","slug":"nasa-christmas-star-returns-tonight-after-800-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lasvegasbuffetclub.com\/blog\/?p=12022","title":{"rendered":"NASA: \u201cChristmas Star\u201d Returns Tonight After 800 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"\"facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"google_plus\"<\/a>\"reddit\"<\/a>\"pinterest\"<\/a>\"linkedin\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>by <\/span>\"feather\"<\/a>
\"NASA:
Saturn, top, and Jupiter, below, are seen after sunset from Shenandoah National Park, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2020, in Luray, Virginia. The two planets are drawing closer to each other in the sky as they head towards a \u201cgreat conjunction\u201d on December 21, where the two giant planets will appear a tenth of a degree apart.
\nCredits: NASA\/ Bill Ingalls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Saturn, top, and Jupiter, below, are seen after sunset from Shenandoah National Park, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2020, in Luray, Virginia. The two planets are drawing closer to each other in the sky as they head towards a \u201cgreat conjunction\u201d on December 21, where the two giant planets will appear a tenth of a degree apart.
\nCredits: NASA\/ Bill Ingalls<\/p>\n

The \u2018Great\u2019 Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn<\/strong><\/p>\n

Skywatchers are in for an end-of-year treat. What has become known popularly as the \u201cChristmas Star\u201d is an especially vibrant planetary conjunction easily visible in the evening sky over the next two weeks as the bright planets Jupiter and Saturn come together, culminating on the night of Dec. 21.<\/p>\n

In 1610, Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei pointed his telescope to the night sky, discovering the four moons of Jupiter \u2013 Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. In that same year, Galileo also discovered a strange oval surrounding Saturn, which later observations determined to be its rings. These discoveries changed how people understood the far reaches of our solar system.<\/p>\n

Thirteen years later, in 1623, the solar system\u2019s two giant planets, Jupiter and Saturn, traveled together across the sky. Jupiter caught up to and passed Saturn, in an astronomical event known as a \u201cGreat Conjunction.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cYou can imagine the solar system to be a racetrack, with each of the planets as a runner in their own lane and the Earth toward the center of the stadium,\u201d said Henry Throop, astronomer[sic] in the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. \u201cFrom our vantage point, we\u2019ll be able to be to see Jupiter on the inside lane, approaching Saturn all month and finally overtaking it on December 21.\u201d<\/p>\n

The planets regularly appear to pass each other in the solar system, with the positions of Jupiter and Saturn being aligned in the sky about once every 20 years.<\/p>\n

What makes this year\u2019s spectacle so rare, then? It\u2019s been nearly 400 years since the planets passed this close to each other in the sky, and nearly 800 years since the alignment of Saturn and Jupiter occurred at night, as it will for 2020, allowing nearly everyone around the world to witness this \u201cgreat conjunction.\u201d<\/p>\n

The closest alignment will appear just a tenth of a degree apart and last for a few days. On the 21st, they will appear so close that a pinkie finger at arm\u2019s length will easily cover both planets in the sky. The planets will be easy to see with the unaided eye by looking toward the southwest just after sunset.<\/p>\n

From our vantage point on Earth the huge gas giants will appear very close together, but they will remain hundreds of millions of miles apart in space. And while the conjunction is happening on the same day as the winter solstice, the timing is merely a coincidence, based on the orbits of the planets and the tilt of the Earth.<\/p>\n

\u201cConjunctions like this could happen on any day of the year, depending on where the planets are in their orbits,\u201d said Throop. \u201cThe date of the conjunction is determined by the positions of Jupiter, Saturn, and the Earth in their paths around the Sun, while the date of the solstice is determined by the tilt of Earth\u2019s axis. The solstice is the longest night of the year, so this rare coincidence will give people a great chance to go outside and see the solar system.\u201d
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