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Stargazers in Bahrain and beyond will have more than one reason to celebrate this festive season as they witness the moment of a millennia amongst the stars.
For the first time in nearly 800 years, Jupiter and Saturn will be so close that they will appear to form a ‘double planet’ – a phenomenon that has come to be known as a Great Conjunction.
“Since Jupiter will the fourth brightest celestial body in the sky, after the sun, moon and Venus, it will be quite easy to observe this phenomenon with the naked eye,” said award-winning Bahrain-based ‘astro-photographer’ Premjith Narayanan.
“In Bahrain, we will be able to see both planets after the sun sets, but catch them before they disappear over the horizon – usually after 7pm.
“If you use a telescope, you will also be able to see the four large moons of Jupiter and Saturn’s rings as well.”
Next Monday, December 21, the two planets will appear to overlap completely being just 0.1 degrees or 6.1 arc minutes apart – less than the diameter of a full moon.
Saturn will appear to the east of Jupiter, and may even appear as close to the planet as some of its own moons, despite being millions of kilometres apart in reality.
Unlike stars which twinkle, both planets will hold consistent brightness and are easy to find on clear nights.
Every 20 years, when Jupiter’s 11.86-year-orbit laps Saturn’s 29.46-year-orbit, the two planets can be observed getting cosy. Throughout this month, stargazers have been venturing out to watch the two planets get closer, night-after-night.
The final stroke to the celestial coincidence is that they will appear closest on the same day as the winter solstice, which marks the year’s shortest day and longest night.
The sun will start to set by 4.50pm and once the nautical twilight kicks in at 5.12pm, the two planets can be seen clearly until Jupiter disappears beyond the horizon at 7.33pm, followed by Saturn at 7.38pm.
According to astronomic models, after this conjunction, the two planets won’t make such a close approach until 2080.
Historically, the last time a Great Conjunction occurred was on July 16, 1623, but this was largely unobserved since it occurred during the day.
The unique astronomical phenomenon has been studied extensively and will look similar to the “Star of Bethlehem” or Christmas Star, followed by the three wise men in the biblical nativity story of the birth of Jesus Christ. Some astronomers have theorised that the original Christmas Star, which heralded the birth of Christ was a triple conjunction of Jupiter with Venus and Regus, but there is some disagreement on the subject.
The last observable Great Conjunction was on March 5, 1226.
Dr Waheeb Al Nasser, chairman of the Bahrain Astronomical Society (BAS) and his grandson, Yusuf, will have their gaze fixed on the night sky to immortalise the memory of this once-in-a-millennia moment.
“No-one should miss this event, which will be seen in Bahrain in the direction of the Makkah (246 degrees),” Dr Waheeb added.
“We encourage everyone, especially youngsters, since all you will need is a magnifying mobile phone to capture the moment.
“In addition, BAS will broadcast this event live from sunset until 7.20pm. This is an alternative to avoid gatherings during the Covid-19 pandemic.”
To learn more, contact bah.astro.society@gmail.com
