Jupiter & Saturn 'nearly touch' in rare 'Great Conjunction' to make ‘CHRISTMAS star’

JUPITER and Saturn came closer together last night than at any other time in the past 400 years.

Cloudy weather ruined the once-in-a-lifetime event for many stargazers in the UK but luckily people all over the world were able to capture stunning video.

The planets won't be aligning closely again until 2080.

It's an event known as the 'Great Conjunction'.

The planets appeared together low on the southwesterly horizon just after dark and were so bright that they could be seen from most cities.

With the naked eye they looked like one star.

Some people are referring to the event as the forming of a "Christmas Star" or "Star of Bethlehem", while others thought it meant the apocalypse was coming.

Despite looking close with the naked eye, Jupiter and Saturn remained 450 million miles apart in space.

The last time stargazers could observe this event was back in the Middle Ages on March 4, 1226.

The two planets did also come very close together in the 1600s but this wasn't said to be visible from Earth.

Read more
Jupiter and Saturn Great Conjunction: Stunning photos show ‘Christmas Star’ shining in the night sky across the world
https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/13545457/jupiter-and-saturn-pictures/

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Видео Jupiter & Saturn 'nearly touch' in rare 'Great Conjunction' to make ‘CHRISTMAS star’ канала The Sun