CINCINNATI: It was an astronomical event that humans have not been able to observe in the night sky since the 13th century, and Cincinnati Observatory astronomer Dean Regas would not miss it.
On Monday evening, Regas aimed his 175-year-old observatory telescope at a small space field and captured a video of the “Great Conjunction” of Jupiter and Saturn. It was the closest approach between the two largest planets in the solar system since 1623, but it was about four centuries before the spectacle was last visible at night.
Although the two planets were on Monday night closest, it’s not too late to catch the rare celestial spectacle: weather permitting, the planets will still be visible in close conjunction again on Tuesday night, Regas said.
“Look southwest between 6pm and 6.45pm, where you’ll see two bright spots,” Regas said. “At first glance, Jupiter will be the brightest with the faintest Saturn next to it. Through a telescope in the back garden, you should be able to see both planets at the same time.”
Although the two planets converge at a relatively close distance once every couple of decades, such a close and visible distance from Earth is extremely rare, according to NASA officials.
“You can imagine the solar system is a racetrack, with each of the planets as a corridor in its own lane and the Earth toward the center of the stadium,” said Henry Throop, an astronomer in the Division of Planetary Sciences at headquarters from NASA to Washington. “From our point of view, we will be able to see Jupiter in the inner lane, approaching Saturn all month and finally overtaking it on December 21.”
It just so happened that Jupiter and Saturn lined up as much as possible on the evening of the winter solstice, the longest night of the year.
Its proximity to the Christmas holidays was also casual, but it caused some to call the event a “Christmas star,” even though the event only involves planets.
Scripps National Desk journalist Justin Boggs contributed to this story.