Jupiter and Saturn (Page 2): A "year" on each of these planets... Jupiter 11.86 earth years Saturn 29.46 earth years Earth moves a lot quicker and changes the parallax view

chrisg-optical Loc: New York, NY

larryepage wrote:

These planets do not move rapidly. They are not fa... (show quote)

A "year" on each of these planets...
Jupiter 11.86 earth years
Saturn 29.46 earth years

Earth moves a lot quicker and changes the parallax view - so it makes them appear as they are moving toward each other more rapidly.

I have been watching these two in the night sky for a month now when they appeared much farther apart - very bright indeed.

George II Loc: Fayetteville, Georgia

saparoo wrote:

I'm in Georgia and I read December 21st, 45 minutes after sunset, SW sky. Don't know if I will be able to see it or take any pictures because I'm having a total knee replacement on the 17th. Maybe someone will capture it and add it on UHH and I can see it then. Best of luck!!!

With our luck it will be overcast or raining....good luck with the knee replacement...i had a bilateral replacement done 15 years ago all will be well if you follow the rehab...
Regards,
The “G”

daldds Loc: NYC

I have free app called “Skyview Lite.” It does not cost anything. It is extremely simple. Open the app and hold the phone up to the sky object you wish to identify.

george19

Well, maybe in 800 years I’ll have a mirrorless camera;-)

Jupiter and Saturn have been visible in close proximity to the south shortly after sunset for a while. At about 7 pm in early November they were just east of south, with Mars rising in the east, and Saturn at about 10:30 to Jupiter.

Most of the conjunction is because of the relative orbital speeds of the planets, and Jupiter and Saturn will be out of sight for several months as they recede behind the sun.

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

jerryc41 wrote:

These two planets will be so close that they will appear as one. Of course, by "close," it's just a matter of positioning and an optical illusion. This will be a good chance to get some unusual pictures. Or, you can wait 800 years for them to get close again.

Not quite 800 years but beyond my span: "The extra-close Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in 2020 won’t be matched again until the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction of March 15, 2080."

On Dec. 4th the pair fit nicely in a 600mm field-of-view. On Dec. 21st you could easily use a 3500mm lens with room to spare!

bwa

Dec. 4th

(Download)

htbrown Loc: San Francisco Bay Area

jerryc41 wrote:

<snip> Or, you can wait 800 years for them to get close again.

Great Conjunctions, as they are called, occur every 20 years. The last one, in 2000, was lost in the haze of the sun. The next will be in 2040, which might as well be 800 years for all the likelihood I'll be around to see it.

Naptown Gaijin

Last one for this pair that was this close and visible from earth was in 1226, according to NASA... but you may have a better source of information.

frankraney Loc: Clovis, Ca.

Say Cheese wrote:

OK I'll ask, Where should we look in the sky? Where should we point our lens?

There are two great apps for your phone. Planets, sky view free, that all you do is point your phone to the sky and it shows you where everything is. I use sky view free, which just came out with an upgrade at $1.99 and we'll worth it.

frankraney Loc: Clovis, Ca.

Thomas902 wrote:

"...I'm having a total knee replacement on th... (show quote)

I had uni knee replacement a few years ago. I used to be a baseball pitcher and a fast pitch football pitcher. I also played soccer and referred soccer. The doctor said any one if these could have caused this. Uni knee is a half knee. Mine was inside half. Was not bad at all. It was the therapy was was hell...

lbeatiee Loc: California

Thanks for the tip about Stellarium

FeddieFotos Loc: Ardmore PA (from Dominican Republic)

jerryc41 wrote:

These two planets will be so close that they will appear as one. Of course, by "close," it's just a matter of positioning and an optical illusion. This will be a good chance to get some unusual pictures. Or, you can wait 800 years for them to get close again.

Please check Earth and Sky a free subscription.
These 2 planets will be closest on Dec 21st 2020...then I am going on a deep sleep to confirm in 800 years. Have fun.

Doc Barry Loc: Huntsville, Alabama USA

Naptown Gaijin wrote:

Last one for this pair that was this close and visible from earth was in 1226, according to NASA... but you may have a better source of information.

This time the separation is 6 arc minutes and will be the same separation in March of 2080. About every 20 years they are in near conjunction, but typically the separation is a degree or so.

CSand Loc: Fayetteville, Georgia

jerryc41 wrote:

These two planets will be so close that they will appear as one. Of course, by "close," it's just a matter of positioning and an optical illusion. This will be a good chance to get some unusual pictures. Or, you can wait 800 years for them to get close again.

It is interesting to note that this is being called "The Star of Bethlehem". The three wise men, the Magi, were indeed wise in the field of astronomy and would have studied this happening. Google the Christian perspective for this upcoming event and connection to the birth of Christ. The article that I read was at CBN World News and I believe article was titled "Bethlehem Star"

planepics Loc: St. Louis burbs, but originally Chicago burbs

The local weatherman said that this confluence might look like the "Christmas Star" about 2k years ago. I hope it's not cloudy when it happens.

planepics Loc: St. Louis burbs, but originally Chicago burbs

CSand wrote:

It is interesting to note that this is being called "The Star of Bethlehem". The three wise men, the Magi, were indeed wise in the field of astronomy and would have studied this happening. Google the Christian perspective for this upcoming event and connection to the birth of Christ. The article that I read was at CBN World News and I believe article was titled "Bethlehem Star"

It was humbling to go to Bethlehem and other biblically historic places in 2017 when I went on a 2-week trip to Israel. I went with a normal tour group and it was a mixture of religious and secular sites. My pastor leads a trip to Israel every couple years. One day I'm going to go with his group (even though it's grown exponentially in the last several years), but it takes place in January so I can't make it due to work.