Local astronomers and stargazing enthusiasts are preparing for a rare planetary conjunction on Monday evening, setting up telescopes and praying for good weather to catch the perfect shot. Although a phenomenon that occurs once every 20 years, this particular conjunction will only be seen 400 years later, experts said.
Chennai: The “great conjunction” is set to occur with Saturn and Jupiter, and is supposedly a very rare occurrence. A conjunction occurs when two planets appear very close to each other when seen from Earth, because they seem to line up in their respective orbits.
“The reason that this is called the great conjunction is because these two planets are incredibly close to each other this time, unlike earlier conjunctions, which occur once in 20 years. This is the first time since 1623 that the planets are so close. The distance between them is going to be just one degree. To put it in context, that is one-third the size of the Earth’s moon,” said Shweta Kulkarni, director of AstronEra and fellow of the Royal Astronomy Society of England. In Chennai, the conjunction is expected from 6 pm or sunset until 7.30 pm, on the western side of the sky. Jupiter, a bright planet, will be clearly visible to the naked eye, but Saturn will not be clearly visible. But if locals use binoculars of telescopes, sighting this phenomenon should be easy enough. And local stargazers are already preparing for the event. “I have set up two telescopes on my terrace to prepare for the conjunction. I also hope to get the perfect shot. Such a close conjunction will not happen for another 400 years, so I am very excited,” said Sivasubramanyam, co-founder, Chennai Astronomy Club.
While the next conjunction will occur in 2040, this conjunction will occur during the day, affecting the ability of astronomy enthusiasts to sight it as easily as during the night. Conjunctions occur once every 20 years, but the next great conjunction, where the planets are in such close quarters, will only be in 2477, said Kulkarni.
“The reason that this is called the great conjunction is because these two planets are incredibly close to each other this time, unlike earlier conjunctions, which occur once in 20 years. This is the first time since 1623 that the planets are so close. The distance between them is going to be just one degree. To put it in context, that is one-third the size of the Earth’s moon,” said Shweta Kulkarni, director of AstronEra and fellow of the Royal Astronomy Society of England. In Chennai, the conjunction is expected from 6 pm or sunset until 7.30 pm, on the western side of the sky. Jupiter, a bright planet, will be clearly visible to the naked eye, but Saturn will not be clearly visible. But if locals use binoculars of telescopes, sighting this phenomenon should be easy enough. And local stargazers are already preparing for the event. “I have set up two telescopes on my terrace to prepare for the conjunction. I also hope to get the perfect shot. Such a close conjunction will not happen for another 400 years, so I am very excited,” said Sivasubramanyam, co-founder, Chennai Astronomy Club.
While the next conjunction will occur in 2040, this conjunction will occur during the day, affecting the ability of astronomy enthusiasts to sight it as easily as during the night. Conjunctions occur once every 20 years, but the next great conjunction, where the planets are in such close quarters, will only be in 2477, said Kulkarni.
Conversations