Light fantastic
‘Star of Bethlehem’ to shine brightest for 800 years as Jupiter and Saturn align
THE f abled Star of Bethlehem followed by the Three Wise Men will make a r are r eal- l i f e appearance this Christmas – shining brighter than it has in 800 years.
For the rest of this month, Jupiter and Saturn will align to create what astronomers believe inspired the Christmas star in the nativity story.
They will appear to nearly collide on December 21 – the date of the winter solstice – to create a rare ‘ double planet’ phenomenon in the sky.
The event, named a ‘great conjunction’, will be the closest – and brightest – the two largest planets in the solar system have appeared to be since the 13th
‘Spectacular to the naked eye’
century. Nasa said the conjunction will be ‘spectacular’ to the naked eye, and the best time to spot it will be just after sunset.
In 1614 the famed German astronomer Johannes Kepler documented his belief that the phenomenon i s what was referred to as the Star of Bethlehem in the nativity.
Others have proposed that the three wise men could have referred to a ‘triple conjunction’ of Jupiter, Saturn and Venus.
But it i s unknown i f the ‘ Christmas Star’ was a real astronomical event or simply part of a story.
Astronomer Patrick Hartigan, of Rice University in Texas, said: ‘Alignments between these two planets are rather rare, occurring once every 20 years or so.
‘This conjunction is exceptionally rare because of how close the planets will appear to one another. You’d have to go all the way back to just before dawn on March 4, 1226, to see a closer alignment between these visible objects in the sky.’
Jupiter and Saturn have been approaching one another since the summer. Between December 16 and 25, the two will be separated by less than the diameter of a full moon. Though the best viewing conditions will be near the equator, the event will be observable anywhere on Earth – weather permitting.
Stargazers in Britain will need to look to the south west, and the planets will be very close to the horizon.
Those with a telescope, or a camera with a big lens, are likely to see Jupiter’s four moons lined up as well. The last conjunction, which took place in the year 2000, was not visible to most because of the Earth’s proximity to the sun.
And anyone fearing a galactic disaster can relax – Nasa was keen to point out that although Jupiter and Saturn may appear close, in reality they are hundreds of millions of miles apart.