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The shortest day of the yr goes to pack an enormous present.
On Monday, because the Northern Hemisphere marks the start of winter with the solstice, we’re additionally being handled to a uncommon and spectacular sight within the sky: the great conjunction.
During the present, Jupiter and Saturn, the 2 largest planets in our photo voltaic system, will seem very shut to 1 one other, as in the event that they had been overlapping to create a double planet. The final time we had been handled to such a sight was in the course of the Middle Ages — nearly 800 years in the past.
Some affiliate it with the fabled Star of Bethlehem that guided the three sensible males within the Bible’s Nativity story.
To have fun the primary day of winter and the great conjunction occurring on the identical day, Google has created an animated Doodle displaying Saturn giving Jupiter a high-five because it slides on by in its photo voltaic system orbit.
A conjunction happens when any two astronomical objects seem shut collectively within the sky when noticed from Earth. From our perspective, the 2 big planets will seem solely a tenth of a level aside, although they’re really about 450 million miles aside.
The conjunction of the 2 planets happens each 19.6 years, however is the primary time since 1226 that the pair aligns at evening and Earthlings had been in a position to witness it.
The shut alignment shall be simply seen to the bare eye whereas trying into the southwest sky simply after sundown.
(This story has not been edited by Newslivenation workers and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)