No public observation session for rare planetary alignment: Arthur C. Clarke Institute

A rare planetary phenomenon, Jupiter- Saturn conjunction will take place today (21) at around 8.20 p.m., Arthur C. Clarke Institute announced.

“Planets Saturn and Jupiter will get closer to each other in the evening western sky. Two planets will appear as a big “single star” to the naked eye and can be observed just after the sunset between the west and south-west direction about 20 degrees above the horizon until they will set around 8:20 pm. The next such closest Jupiter-Saturn conjunction will occur in 2080,” the Institute said.

The significance of this conjunction is that it is the closest Jupiter-Saturn conjunction (about 6 arc minutes separation) since 1623, only 14 years after Galileo made his first telescope. But it is considered unlikely that this conjunction was noticed by many because it was only 13 degrees east of the Sun, closely following the Sun at sunset. The closest observable Jupiter-Saturn conjunction before that was in 1226.

“Because of the Covid-19 pandemic situation, the Arthur C. Clarke Institute is not in a position to conduct a public observation session for this event. We request and encourage astronomy enthusiasts who have cameras and telescopes to capture this once-in-a-lifetime closest Jupiter-Saturn conjunction,” the Institute said. 

“You don’t need a binocular or a telescope to see this Jupiter-Saturn conjunction. Such a close event will allow telescopic observers a chance to study these two gas-giant worlds side by side in the same field of view at high magnifications.”