Jupiter, Saturn in conjunction
Some see potential for a ‘Christmas star’ event this week
In a timely appearance, with winter arriving and Christmas coming, what some believe could be the Star of Bethlehem is set to show itself in the sky 0onday.
However, it won t actually be a star but the once in a multi-century apparent merger of the planets Jupiter and Saturn as they will appear as one bright planet.
How rare is the double-planet event The last time the two planets were aligned this close was way back in the year .
Those in this region hoping for a close look are advised to look toward the southwest sky roughly an hour after sunset. Telescopes are not essential but would make the celestial event more prominent.
hile the planets will appear as a singular object, they will still be about million miles apart.
Jupiter the largest planet in our solar system will be the brighter of the two planets. Saturn is known for its colorful rings.
The forecast, unfortunately, calls for cloudy weather in these parts, meteorologists say.
And temperatures should run in the upper s, but will feel like the low s.
Because of the virus pandemic, the observatory at heaton College in Norton won t be open to the public as it usually is for special astronomical events.
8nfortunately, we are not doing anything at heaton because the buildings have been closed due to the pandemic, said Dipankar 0aitra of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at heaton.
But 0aitra and other astronomers are eagerly looking forward to the not even once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.
The planet merger also took place during alileo s time in the th century, but was near the sun and difficult to see, and the two planets were not as close together as they will be 0onday or the th century.
Some believe the conjunction of the planets was responsible for what was believed to be the Star of Bethlehem.