Gas planets Jupiter and Saturn will move within 0.1 degrees of each other, appearing like a giant star in the night sky, and 91亚色's Allan I. Carswell Observatory will broadcast the event on Dec. 21 鈥 clear skies permitting 鈥 through its , offering a live view through the .听
Professor Paul Delaney stands with the one-metre telescope
鈥淭his will be the closest they鈥檝e been to each other since 1623,鈥 says Assistant Professor听听of 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Science.听
鈥淭his means the planets Jupiter and Saturn will be so close together, you would be able to easily cover them both with a pinkie finger held outstretched towards the sky, so close it will appear as a single bright star.鈥
In the weeks leading up to what鈥檚 called the 鈥淕reat Conjunction鈥 on Dec. 21, Jupiter and Saturn will be visible low in the western sky just after sunset. The two planets will get closer to each other until they will reach their closest pass.听
A conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn only happens about once every 20 years.
The live YouTube event is scheduled to take place from 4 to 6 p.m. To watch it online, visit this .听
For more information, visit the听听website.