All on the same day, folks. For astronomers, this is a big deal.
First, let’s look at the solstice, the moment the sun reaches its southernmost point in the sky and winter begins: 8:30 a.m. on the 21st this year.
Sure, winter here in Southwest Florida isn’t the same thing as winter in, say, Chicago. While the occasional cold front forces us to trot out our seldom-used sweaters and sweatpants, we spend most of our winters in shorts and T-shirts.
Even though we won’t have Jack Frost nipping at our noses on Dec. 21, we can actually mark the change of seasons by simply watching the sunrise and sunset and looking at a clock.
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Technically, the two largest planets in our solar system will still be hundreds of millions of miles apart. But from our vantage point on earth, they’ll look like they’re nearly touching.
The last time Jupiter and Saturn came this close was 1623, but that conjunction was too near the sun to be seen on Earth. The most recent visible to humans was 800 years ago.
For the next two weeks, Jupiter and Saturn will get closer and closer in the sky.
The alignment of the two largest planets in our solar system happens every 20 years or so, but it’s been nearly 800 years since they ve come this close.