(SPOT.ph) We've always been told that when a celestial object in the night sky doesn't seem to twinkle, then it's probably a planet astoundingly being visible to the naked eye. On most days, it's Venus that we first see rising in the east just before sunrise. But at dusk on December 21, two gas giants Jupiter and Saturn will appear so close to one another that they will look like one shiny object in the early night sky. This will become visible until they set together at 7:46 p.m. (Philippine Standard Time).
This astronomical event is dubbed the "Great Conjunction," where conjunction in astronomical terms means that two celestial objects have the same right ascension or same ecliptic longitude. They're not necessarily close to one another in space (they could be light years away!), but the two bright objects appear close to the naked eye. This regularly happens for Jupiter and Saturn every 20 years, but they never got this close since July 16, 1623 when the two planets were only five arc minutes apart.
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On December 21, the two planets will be separated with just 6.1 arc minutes (or 0.102 degrees). You can gradually see them closing the gap starting at 2.2 degrees on December 1, 0.7 degrees on December 15, and 0.1 degrees less every night until the 21st, according to Space.com.
The next time this will happen is on March 15, 2080, when they will have a six-arc minute separation.
Main photo from Pixabay, used for illustrative purposes only.
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Source: Spot PH
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