topic Re: Christmas Star Dec. 21st in Community Chat

Christmas Star Dec. 21st

Cakers3 — Mon, 07 Dec 2020 14:01:00 GMT

The solstice this year will see Jupiter and Saturn closer together than they have been seen in 800 years.

Called a conjunction, the two planets will appear close together as one star when viewed from Earth but are still hundreds of millions of miles apart.

The planets will appear to be apart by only 1/5 the diameter of a full moon.

Conjunction of larger planets occur throughout the universe and the last one between Jupiter and Saturn occurred in 2000. However, that conjunction was not as close as this one will be on Dec. 21st.

(This is NOT a religious subject so please be respectful of standards.)

Re: Christmas Star Dec. 21st

faeriemoon — Mon, 07 Dec 2020 14:02:47 GMT

Very interesting!! Thanks for posting!!

Re: Christmas Star Dec. 21st

avid shopper — Mon, 07 Dec 2020 14:19:24 GMT

Here's hoping...in cloudy Upstate NY!

Re: Christmas Star Dec. 21st

Still Raining — Mon, 07 Dec 2020 15:51:14 GMT

Hard to understand how two bitty points of lights are still so far apart. Would be fun to zip all around out there.

Re: Christmas Star Dec. 21st

avid shopper — Tue, 15 Dec 2020 12:45:48 GMT

@Cakers3 @Still Raining @faeriemoon

Geminids Meteor Shower this weekend

Re: Christmas Star Dec. 21st

Cakers3 — Fri, 11 Dec 2020 20:54:01 GMT

@avid shopper wrote:
@Cakers3 @Still Raining @faeriemoon

Perseid Meteor Shower this weekend

@avid shopper Cool.

One of the best memories I have of the meteor shower was back home when DH and I spread a blanket on the hood of our car and leaned back to watch a spectacular meteor shower on a back road. It was so intense you felt you could reach up and grab one. This was over 20 years ago or so.

Thanks for letting us know-I actually had not heard about this!!!

Re: Christmas Star Dec. 21st

suziebee1 — Fri, 11 Dec 2020 21:01:21 GMT

@avid shopper wrote:
Here's hoping...in cloudy Upstate NY!

I hear you! Whenever there is an eclipse, meteor shower, planet alignment, etc., it is cloudy or raining.

Re: Christmas Star Dec. 21st

geezerette — Fri, 11 Dec 2020 21:05:17 GMT

@Cakers3 wrote:
The solstice this year will see Jupiter and Saturn closer together than they have been seen in 800 years.

Called a conjunction, the two planets will appear close together as one star when viewed from Earth but are still hundreds of millions of miles apart.

The planets will appear to be apart by only 1/5 the diameter of a full moon.

Conjunction of larger planets occur throughout the universe and the last one between Jupiter and Saturn occurred in 2000. However, that conjunction was not as close as this one will be on Dec. 21st.

(This is NOT a religious subject so please be respectful of standards.)

I've been watching them the last several nights.

Re: Christmas Star Dec. 21st

avid shopper — Fri, 11 Dec 2020 21:14:14 GMT

@Cakers3 wrote:
@avid shopper wrote:
@Cakers3 @Still Raining @faeriemoon

Perseid Meteor Shower this weekend
@avid shopper Cool.

One of the best memories I have of the meteor shower was back home when DH and I spread a blanket on the hood of our car and leaned back to watch a spectacular meteor shower on a back road. It was so intense you felt you could reach up and grab one. This was over 20 years ago or so.

Thanks for letting us know-I actually had not heard about this!!!

I miss spoke, wrong meteor shower, not that the name matters but this weekend is the Geminids

I most likely will not see as it is to be cloudy for us in Upstate NY but I did see a beautiful crescent moon rise this morning.

I check a site called "Earth Sky" from time to time to see what is going on in the sky. But this year I had a page saved that had "the 10 must see celestial events of 2020". I haven't searched for 2021 yet. Also "SLOOH" either on your device or YouTube will show live events not visable everywhere. Eclipses in particular for me.

I too had an experience similar to yours but in August (Perseid) when I was a teenager. At the Drive-In with my cousin behind the screen hundreds of shooting stars while we were there. So Cool!

Re: Christmas Star Dec. 21st

Porcelain — Fri, 11 Dec 2020 21:10:53 GMT

This isn't a religious topic. It refers to Astrology. Supposedly the Age of Aquairus is starting in earnest and we are all going to be a lot more community minded and cooperative and in tune with nature. Sounds like a good time to me. Every little bit helps and if the planets have a pull and positive influence on some folks, so be it. Just in time for Christmas.

Re: Christmas Star Dec. 21st

Cakers3 — Sat, 12 Dec 2020 13:30:41 GMT

@avid shopper wrote:
@Cakers3 wrote:
@avid shopper wrote:
@Cakers3 @Still Raining @faeriemoon

Perseid Meteor Shower this weekend
@avid shopper   Cool.

One of the best memories I have of the meteor shower was back home when DH and I spread a blanket on the hood of our car and leaned back to watch a spectacular meteor shower on a back road. It was so intense you felt you could reach up and grab one. This was over 20 years ago or so.

Thanks for letting us know-I actually had not heard about this!!!

I miss spoke, wrong meteor shower, not that the name matters but this weekend is the Geminids

I most likely will not see as it is to be cloudy for us in Upstate NY but I did see a beautiful crescent moon rise this morning.
I check a site called "Earth Sky" from time to time to see what is going on in the sky. But this year I had a page saved that had "the 10 must see celestial events of 2020". I haven't searched for 2021 yet. Also "SLOOH" either on your device or YouTube will show live events not visable everywhere. Eclipses in particular for me.

I too had an experience similar to yours but in August (Perseid) when I was a teenager. At the Drive-In with my cousin behind the screen hundreds of shooting stars while we were there. So Cool!

@avid shopper It's ok. I knew which one you meant.

The one DH and I watched all those years ago was the Perseids. Still one of the most simple yet spectacular times we had.

Re: Christmas Star Dec. 21st

Cakers3 — Sun, 13 Dec 2020 21:49:39 GMT

@avid shopper Did you see any meteors? It was partly cloudy last night but we could see some faint stars but no meteors.

Now today turned out clear skies after a foggy misty morning so i'm wondering if there is still a chance tonight.

Re: Christmas Star Dec. 21st

avid shopper — Tue, 15 Dec 2020 12:23:59 GMT

@Cakers3

No luck sad to say! Sunday I woke up at 2AM and went out on the deck. I could see it was starting to cloud over. Saturday AM I woke up early, stepped out on the deck, saw one short quick streak but could see it was going to get cloudy and by the time I got dressed and out, no luck.

On a separate note, yesterday there was a total solar eclipse in the southern hemisphere which I watched live on "Slooh". I go to YouTube and look for the Slooh live video. Since discovering Slooh it has allowed me to see some of the fantastic celestial events not visible here.

Anxiously awaiting the "conjuction" of Saturn and Jupiter. Often, here, the sky clears off at sunset and I am hoping I will be able to observe. 🪐

Re: Christmas Star Dec. 21st

CherryHugs — Tue, 15 Dec 2020 12:35:03 GMT

I hope I can see that here!!!

Re: Christmas Star Dec. 21st

skatting44 — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 23:41:57 GMT

Just tried to view the Christmas Star with a telescope but it is foggy cloudy tonight which has impaired visibility so far tonight . Nxt showing won't be til 2080 , so hope someone will beable to view it tonight.

Re: Christmas Star Dec. 21st

just bee — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 23:48:05 GMT

Monday, December 21

Today is a busy day, astronomically speaking! First up, the winter solstice occurs at 5:02 A.M. EST. On this day, Earth’s North Pole is tilted maximally away from the Sun. It’s the shortest day of the year and typically marks the official beginning of winter.

Next, Jupiter passes 0.1° south of Saturn at 9 A.M. EST — that’s one-fifth the diameter of the Full Moon. However, the pair won’t be visible until twilight, when they’ll pop out of the growing darkness low in the southwestern sky. Jupiter is a bright magnitude –2 and Saturn is a dimmer magnitude 0.6. If your southwestern skies are clear at sunset, it’s more than worth getting bundled up to see the sight. But be quick — the planets are so low that they’ll set a little more than two hours after the Sun.

The last time Jupiter and Saturn sat this close together in a dark sky (meaning relatively far from the Sun) was 1226 A.D., although many other, farther-apart conjunctions have occurred. Of course, they aren’t truly close together — Jupiter is 551 million miles from Earth, while Saturn sits nearly twice as far away, at 1 billion miles from Earth. At those distances, Jupiter appears 33" across; Saturn’s disk spans 15", but its rings stretch 35" from one end to the other.

The pair make a great naked-eye sight and will show up in a single field of view in binoculars or a telescope. As with last night, several moons are sprinkled around them: four of Saturn’s moons — Enceladus, Tethys, Dione and Titan — appear west of the planet, while Rhea and Mimas are to its east. At Jupiter, Europa sits alone to the planet’s west, while Ganymede, Io, and Callisto are to the east. And Eastern U.S. observers get an extra treat — they’ll watch Ganymede begin to transit, or cross in front of, Jupiter starting at 7:04 P.M. EST. Its passage will take 3.5 hours in total, meaning that while western observers won’t see it start, they’ll get to see the second half of its journey. Those farther west will also get to watch the dark blot of Ganymede’s shadow slide onto Jupiter’s disk at 9:40 P.M. EST.

And if your skies aren’t clear or you don’t have a good viewing location, Lowell Observatory has got you covered. They’re livestreaming the event, starting at 7 P.M. EST on the 21st.

ETA:

So if your sky is cloudy, watch it online!

Re: Christmas Star Dec. 21st

chickenbutt — Tue, 22 Dec 2020 00:11:41 GMT

Is this something that one can see w/o a telescope? Sounds very cool and interesting.

Re: Christmas Star Dec. 21st

SXMGirl — Tue, 22 Dec 2020 00:20:51 GMT

Too many clouds to see anything tonight. Our local weather person said that tomorrow night, right after sunset, will be almost as good to see the Christmas star. Hopefully, the skies will be clear.

Re: Christmas Star Dec. 21st

willdob3 — Tue, 22 Dec 2020 00:27:48 GMT

@SXMGirl wrote:
Too many clouds to see anything tonight. Our local weather person said that tomorrow night, right after sunset, will be almost as good to see the Christmas star. Hopefully, the skies will be clear.

@SXMGirl

Too cloudy here, too. I’ll try tomorrow, too!

Re: Christmas Star Dec. 21st

willdob3 — Tue, 22 Dec 2020 00:30:13 GMT

@chickenbutt wrote:
Is this something that one can see w/o a telescope? Sounds very cool and interesting.

@chickenbutt

Yes, if it is clear we should be able to see it with the naked eye. We should really be able to make out both planets very close together.