On December 21, Jupiter & Saturn will align to create 'Christmas Star' for the first time in 800 years

 


The planets Jupiter and Saturn will be closely aligned to each other to almost appear as one mega celestial body or a ‘Christmas star’ in the night sky from our vantage point on earth. 


It’s a cosmic event stargazers dream of. And it is happening right before Christmas.

In less than three weeks from now, people around the world will witness something in the night sky that has not been seen for the past 800 years.

On December 21, the solar system will grace the people of Earth with a super-rare cosmic phenomenon that can be dubbed as a 'Christmas miracle'.

So what will happen on December 21?

The planets Jupiter and Saturn will be closely aligned to each other to almost appear as one mega celestial body or a ‘Christmas star’ in the night sky from our vantage point on earth. 

According to experts, the celestial synchronization has been imminent since summer as the two planets have been moving closer in the night sky.

Between December 16-25, they will be separated by only 1/5th the diameter of a full moon, according to a Science Alert report.

The super-rare phenomenon, which will create a radiant point of light, is referred to as the 'Star of Bethlehem' or the 'Christmas Star'.

However, the two planets won't be physically close to each other but only look like a single point of bright light to anyone on Earth.

"Alignments between these two planets are rather rare, occurring once every 20 years or so, but this conjunction is exceptionally rare because of how close the planets will appear to one another," astronomer Patrick Hartigan from Rice University was quoted by Science Alert.

For how long will they appear?

The two planets will appear close to each other for just about an hour after sunset on December 21.

According to experts, the next conjunction of this level won't be witnessed till 15 March 2080.


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