The occasion is occurring on the day of the winter solstice, when the evening is the longest. (Image: NASA/ Bill Ingalls)
Christmas Star: The Great Conjunction is set to take place tonight! Christmas Star is set to be visible a handful of days ahead of Christmas Day as Jupiter and Saturn would come collectively as one particular in the evening sky. Though Jupiter and Saturn pass every other and align in the sky roughly each and every 20 years, tonight would nevertheless mark a exceptional occasion of Great Conjunction, according to US space agency NASA.
Great Conjunction 2020: Why is it exceptional
Since the positions of Jupiter and saturn align about each and every 20 years, the Great Conjunction would not appear to be a major deal. But it is. This year, the two planets would be .1 degrees apart in the sky. The final time the two planets came this close collectively was about 400 years ago in 1623. While this would be adequate to make the occasion exceptional as it is, there is more. This year is also the initially time in roughly 800 years given that the planets aligned in the course of the evening time. Another delighted coincidence is that the occasion is occurring on the day of the winter solstice, when the evening is the longest, which suggests that almost every person on Earth would be capable to witness the occasion. In case anybody have been to miss watching the occasion on December 21, it would final for a handful of days.
Christmas Star 2020: When to watch in India?
The Great Conjunction of 2020 is set to take place at 6:20 pm UTC, which suggests that it will commence at 11:50 pm on December 21 in India.
At this time, when the planets would truly be millions of miles apart in space, they would come collectively at their closest when viewed from Earth.
Viewers would not need any unique gear to witness the occasion, as the planets would be visible with naked eye as Jupiter and Saturn are vibrant. While they would be extremely close collectively, keen observers would be capable to distinguish among the two planets. The slightly fainter of the two would be Saturn, and it would be slightly above and to the left of Jupiter tonight. After tonight, the two planets would switch positions.
While the planets can be viewed unaided, a little telescope or binoculars would aid in the capability to also view 4 of the moons of Jupiter orbiting the giant planet.