December just got better! Stargazers will be treated with a rare celestial event today as the planets Jupiter and Saturn are coming together after 400 years. This conjunction is a very rare occurrence and even Astrophysicists are describing it as one, the planets will be just 0.1 degrees apart or about one-fifth the apparent width of the Moon.
A former professor at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, RC Kapoor told Mumbai Mirror that the union of the two planets will get very close and will be a test of the eyesight. He said that bright enough Saturn will be 10 times fainter than Jupiter. “Get ready with your camera, or the mobile phone and take pictures for posterity.”
He told the leading daily that such an occurrence took place back in 1623 and the two planets are hundreds of millions of kilometers apart. Even after December 21, the two planets will remain in close proximity and you can watch the conjunction with your naked eyes but you may have to use binoculars or a mobile camera to have a closer and clearer look at the union. He said that the naked-eye view can be a real challenge for the eyesight. “As Jupiter is 10 times brighter than Saturn these days and difficult to resolve the two separately on 21 December. Look for a bright starlike object in the S-W soon after the sunset. That is the star of the day,” RC Kapoor added.
Timings of the great conjunction:
If you wish to witness the conjunction today, it will be visible between 6.30 pm to 7.30 pm in the evening. Such an event will not happen again in the next 60 years, that is, until 2080.
As per NASA, to spot the conjunction you should find a spot with an unobstructed view of the sky, such as a field or park. Jupiter and Saturn are bright, so they can be seen even from most cities.