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Credit & Copyright: Thanakrit Santikunaporn
(National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand);
Text:
Matipon Tangmatitham
Explanation:
Yes, but have you seen a movie of Jupiter and Saturn's Great Conjunction?
The featured time-lapse video was composed from a series of images taken from Thailand and shows the two giant planets as they angularly
passed about a tenth of a degree from each other.
The first Great Conjunction sequence shows a relative
close up over five days with moons and cloud bands easily visible, followed by a
second video sequence, zoomed out, over 9 days.
Even though Jupiter
and Saturn appeared
to pass unusually close
together on the sky on December
21, 2020, in actuality they were still nearly a billion
kilometers apart.
The two gas giants are destined for similar meet
ups every 19.86
years.
However, they had not come this
close, angularly, for the past 397
years, and will not again for another 60
years.
If you're willing to wait until the year
7541,
though, you can see Jupiter
pass directly in front of Saturn.
Gallery:
Notable images of the Great Conjunction submitted to APOD
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Jupiter - Saturn
Publications with words: Jupiter - Saturn
See also: