Today is December 10. Grab a red pen and circle Monday, December 21 on the calendar, or better yet, mark that day with a big star.
Because, on that day, we will see something we haven't seen for 800 years. No, it's not a good movie with Nicolas Cage in it, or a win by the Jets, or a day without some chowderhead screaming that masks don't work. It's even better...
The winter solstice occurs on the 21st, as always, and this year, Jupiter and Saturn will be lining up to create what is known as the “Christmas Star” or “Star of Bethlehem.”
It's been since the Middle Ages that these two planets have been this close together, from earth's vantage point.
Dr. Amber Straughn is an astrophysicist for NASA, and she says, "The solar system works like clockwork. We can track how the planets move in the sky. And from that we can run the clock backwards and figure out how long ago the planets were lined up like this.”
This is one of those things that we all sort of understand that geniuses do, but we surely don't know HOW they do it!
Dr Straughn says we in the northern hemisphere should turn our heads and telescopes to the southwest portion of the sky about 45 minutes after sunset on the 21st. if we want to see the planets align. But she adds that certain "appearances" from the phenomenon might be seen all that week.
If you're busy on the 21st of December, don't worry. The phenomenon will occur again in the 2080s.
“This really is a once in a lifetime occurrence. The planets line up fairly close together, Jupiter and Saturn, about every 20 years,” said Straughn. “But they haven’t been this close together in 800 years. The next time they will be this close together is about 60 years from now.”
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