EIGHT hundred years in the making – Jupiter and Saturn, the biggest planets in the solar system – aligned last night.
The last great conjunction to appear as close and as visible as this one happened on March 4, 1226, or when Genghis Khan ruled over a large swath of Asia.
An astronomical conjunction occurs when any two heavenly bodies appear to pass each other as seen from Earth.
This celestial rarity is regarded as the same astronomical phenomenon which in the nativity story of the Gospel of Matthew, lit the night sky some 2,000 years ago which guided the Three Wise Men to the birth of the baby Jesus, and henceforth became known as the Star of Bethlehem.
To be a great conjunction, the celestial bodies that need to connect are Jupiter and Saturn. Their orbits align in a way that allows them to seemingly convene roughly every 20 years.
During the 2000 great conjunction, Jupiter and Saturn were near the sun in our sky and were therefore difficult to observe.
Despite the closeness, the planets are not really that close to each other as during their current alignment, they are still separated by a distance of more than 730 million km.
Prof Chong Hon Yew, formerly of USM, and current president of the Astronomical Society of Penang believes that any location on the west coast of the peninsula would be a fine location to look up.
Anywhere with an unobstructed view – including in Kuala Lumpur – of the night sky towards the west and the setting sun would be preferable.
There is no need for a telescope, as binoculars will suffice for those wishing to catch a glimpse of Jupiter’s four moons and the rings of Saturn.
For those hoping to see tonight, the viewing information is as given below:
Sunset at 7.11pm.
The altitude values for Jupiter-Saturn are:
7.11pm: 29 degrees above western horizon
7.30pm: 24 degrees
8.00pm: 17 degrees
8.30pm: 10 degrees
9.00pm: 3 degrees
9.18pm: Jupiter-Saturn set – The Vibes, December 22, 2020
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