from almanac.com/ (Farmer's Almanac online)
THE GREAT CONJUNCTION OF 2020
Get ready for the best conjunction of your lives. Historically called “The Great Conjunction,” this once-in-20-years meeting between our solar system’s two biggest worlds, Jupiter and Saturn, will take place on the winter solstice, December 21, 2020!
So close are the two planets that they merge almost into a single “star,” near enough to fit together in the same telescope field of view and very much visible with the naked eye. At their closest, they’ll be only 0.1 degrees apart.
Specifically:
- The Moon is near the two giant worlds of Jupiter and Saturn on the 16th and 17th.
- Then Jupiter passes extremely close to Saturn from the 20th to the 22nd, coming closest on the 21st—the solstice.
Look for them 45 minutes after local sunset, low in fading evening twilight, roughly 14 degrees above the southwestern horizon. Often too close to the Sun to be observable (as in 2000), this conjunction is truly great and not to be missed!
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