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Saturn and Jupiter

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JEBar
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Saturn and Jupiter

Post by JEBar » Fri Dec 11, 2020 6:48 pm

this month there’s something exciting happening in the skies overhead ... the planets Jupiter and Saturn are appearing closer together each night, as viewed from earth .... their true distance apart in depth is still the same of course, but their proximity in the night sky is getting closer each evening .... they will be at their closest, low in the southwest just after sunset, on Monday, December 21st, the winter solstice.... this is their closest conjunction since 1623.

as weather can be bad the night of any sky event, try watching the progression on a series of evenings both before and after this date, as the planets gradually move nearer each other ....they reach their closest point on December 21st, but are still great to view on either side of this ”super conjunction” .... in fact, the waxing crescent moon ads a nice element on December 16th and 17th, joining the two planets in close proximity .... Jupiter is brighter than Saturn as you view them.

these events are can be seen with the “naked eye” but binoculars add another level of detail .... if you have even a small telescope, you can get both planets and their moons in the eyepiece on the night of the conjunction for a truly spectacular view!
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North Country Gal
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Re: Saturn and Jupiter

Post by North Country Gal » Fri Dec 11, 2020 7:46 pm

It's definitely been a great year for planet viewing. Mars was great, earlier. Thanks for posting this.
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Re: Saturn and Jupiter

Post by JEBar » Mon Dec 21, 2020 6:30 pm

just came in from taking a look at the Christmas Star (AKA Jupiter and Saturn) .... to the naked eye it looked like one bright star .... I took a bunch but I was only able to one zoom my little camera and take a picture showing Jupiter and Saturn .... this is reported to be the closest visible conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in 800 years .... If you miss this conjunction and want to see the planets with the same proximity, just higher in the sky, it won't happen until March 15, 2080 -- and then not again until after 2400.
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Re: Saturn and Jupiter

Post by CT_Shooter » Mon Dec 21, 2020 7:15 pm

JEBar wrote:
Mon Dec 21, 2020 6:30 pm
If you miss this conjunction and want to see the planets with the same proximity, just higher in the sky, it won't happen until March 15, 2080.
Thanks. It's good to know that I still have a chance to witness this rare event; too much cloud cover in CT tonight. :cry:
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Re: Saturn and Jupiter

Post by RanchRoper » Mon Dec 21, 2020 7:22 pm

The winter storm here is not helping, that's ok I'll catch it next time. :)
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Re: Saturn and Jupiter

Post by BigAl52 » Mon Dec 21, 2020 9:07 pm

RanchRoper wrote:
Mon Dec 21, 2020 7:22 pm
The winter storm here is not helping, that's ok I'll catch it next time. :)
Ok if I join ya
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Re: Saturn and Jupiter

Post by RanchRoper » Mon Dec 21, 2020 9:55 pm

You're on.
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Re: Saturn and Jupiter

Post by Koyote » Thu Jan 28, 2021 9:23 am

I have been interested in astronomy since I was a wee lad. I remember going to the playground across the street and laying back to look up in the sky at the moon and stars. This was in Los Angeles so between the smog and the lights it was not very conducive for viewing constellations. In the mid sixties I moved to Reno and the night sky was immensely better. It was about this time that I took a trip to Death Valley for the Thanksgiving holiday. The night sky was awesome there. No smog or city lights. The stars were like diamonds on black velvet.
In the early 70's while attending the U. of NV, it was mandatory to take a class in physics where I felt I would not do well. Much to my surprise and happiness, it turned out to be a class in astronomy and very little math. I read about how Galileo had a 8-10X telescope and kept a record of his observations of Jupiter and how he discovered four of the moons that would appear on each side of the large planet in various configurations. With my 8x power binoculars I could see those same moons of Jupiter.
More recently while going out for a leisurely bag lunch at the Sparks Marina, I saw that the local astronomy club had set up several telescopes in front of the parking lot and one of the members asked me if I would like to see Mercury cross in front of the sun. I was fortunate enough to watch as Mercury had just begin to cross the disc of the sun all the way to the center. It was awesome and I considered myself quite fortunate. I began going to the the viewings held at night where several members brought their large telescopes and I was able to find Jupiter and the other planets in the sky.
I have always had a few books on astronomy that contained charts showing the constellations, with Orion, the Hunter and Taurus the bull being my two favorites.
Recently night sky was clear enough so I could see the planets of Jupiter and Saturn being in close conjunction. An awesome sight.
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Re: Saturn and Jupiter

Post by North Country Gal » Thu Jan 28, 2021 10:36 am

Good for you, Koyote. I've also been a lifelong astronomer. Started as a child with my mother teaching me the basic constellations and I'm still stepping outside on every clear night to enjoy the show. When I'm really ambitious, I drag out one of the telescopes.
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Re: Saturn and Jupiter

Post by Hatchdog » Thu Jan 28, 2021 10:43 am

Orion is my favorite constellation too. My 8th grade science teacher was the first to discuss Orion and he made me aware of it. To this day I always look for it and back when I still hunted big game I would see it when outside getting ready to go a few hours before daylight. (On a clear night of course). I always convinced myself that anytime I saw Orion before going hunting that I would have a successful day. :D
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