Jupiter, Saturn to align in closest night conjunction in 800 years

By Phan Anh December 21, 2020 | 01:55 am PT

Saturn, top, and Jupiter, below, are seen after sunset from Shenandoah National Park, December 13, 2020, in Luray, Virginia, the U.S. Photo courtesy of NASA/Bill Ingalls.

Jupiter and Saturn would conjunct in their orbits Monday night to appear as a “double planet”, the first such occurrence in nearly 800 years.

While the planets typically pass each other in their respective laps around the sun every 20 years, the upcoming occurrence on Monday night, the winter solstice, would be the closest the two appear to be in the night sky for almost 800 years, allowing nearly everyone around the world to witness the conjunction, according to NASA.

From the vantage point on Earth, the two planets would be so close to each other "a pinkie finger at arm’s length will easily cover both planets in the sky," an event easily spotted with the unaided eye, NASA added.

People in Southeast Asia can look to the southwest sky after sunset to see the planets growing closer before they dip below the horizon after 8 p.m.