This will be an alignment of Jupiter and Saturn that will happen on December 21st, and it has not happened like this since the year 1226. The two planets will be so close together that they will look like one extra large star, according to the information about this alignment. I am sure we will have more information as we get closer to seeing this happen. I hope that it won’t be too cloudy to see it from here in Alabama, but we seldom have clear skies, it seems like, plus we have so many trees around that it is hard to see the sky in any case. https://www.christianheadlines.com/contributors/john-paluska/planets-will-align-causing-rare-christmas-star-to-appear-in-the-sky-this-december.html
They are actually pretty close right now and apparently getting closer. I look at them from time to time with a telescope but it's getting a bit chilly these days. Looking at celestial bodies I'm afraid gets a little old after a while since they always look the same including the moon. They have not changed the way they look for millions of years. The Orion nebula gets visible here in the winter and gives good views, but again, it's cold.
Some are calling it the Christmas Star because it will look like it on December 21st. We will also have a solar eclipse, and Geminid meteor shower this month!
If I did this right, those on the east coast of the U.S. will only get a brief look at it before it sets in the SW sky. The image above is from my location of about 76 degrees longitude here in PA. The black dot on the lower right is it at 5:00 PM.
That's right, Yvonne, you scientific woman you! This conjunction will give Saturn the opportunity to hug Mars with its rings, if they weren't so darn far apart! Hal
Yes, Ed...the Orion Nebula (Messier Object M42) is always a fine sight here in the clear atmosphere of the High Desert for several months of the year. You can even see the nebulosity in Orion's Sword through binoculars. Hal
I was disappointed I have seen a planet much brighter than those were. I expected something like I've never seen before. I looked through my binoculars and I could see a little distance between them.
So , I should stop moping around because our skies were totally clouded over and we could not see anything. I did look at some of the pictures posted on the internet, and except for one (which looked like the “Christmas Star” photos that we always see), none of the pictures look special except that the two planets were close together.
Exactly. And if you didn't have a way to magnify the view, you couldn't even tell there were 2 planets.
The Theologian's Tale; Elizabeth Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - 1807-1882 "Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing, Only a signal shown and a distant voice in the darkness; So on the ocean of life we pass and speak one another, Only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence".