The Great Conjunction of 2020
Astronomers and astronomy-lovers worldwide rejoiced over a rare celestial event that took place, known as the great conjunction. A great conjunction is a synchronicity, of the planets Jupiter and Saturn when the two appear closest to one another in the sky.
It takes Jupiter twelve years and Saturn twenty-nine years to fully orbit the sun. At a certain point during both of the planets’ orbitals, the planets meet, causing them to appear closer to each other than they would at any other point during their orbits. The Great Conjunction of 2020 is essentially the visible alignment of the planets Saturn and Jupiter, the two largest planets in our solar system.
This astronomical phenomenon happens every two decades, with the last one taking place in 2000. However, this year’s Great Conjunction is much different from past ones. Usually when Saturn and Jupiter align, there appears to be one degree of space between the two planets so the planets look like two bright stars in the sky. This year, they are separated by only 0.1 degree. Due to the lessened amount of space between the planets, the two gas giants appear to merge into one blazing star—a “double planet.” In reality, the planets are actually four hundred million miles apart! The last time Saturn and Jupiter were this close was in 1623, nearly four centuries ago.
Usually, great conjunctions occur during the day when they are more difficult to spot. Last year’s Great Conjunction took place at night for the first time in 800 years. As if 2020’s conjunction wasn’t unique enough, it also took place during the winter solstice—when the Earth is tilted farthest away from the sun.
This phenomenon was able to be viewed by the naked eye shortly after sunset. While the actual conjunction was on December 21st, for the week prior you could still watch the planets draw closer together every night. As if 2020 was not wild enough, this year’s rare Great Conjunction ended the year with a sense of awe.
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