Christmas Star Will Be Visible First Time in 800 Years - Dec. 21st

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On Dec. 21, people will have the opportunity to experience the same awe as the three wise men when they looked to the sky and saw the “Christmas Star,” or the “Star of Bethlehem,” shining brightly.
In an event that has not occurred in almost 800 years, Jupiter and Saturn will appear to almost collide in a phenomenon scientists refer to as a “conjunction,” making them look like an incredibly bright “double planet,”according to a report from
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Years ago, a priest at my cathedral mentioned that the “star” guiding the way to Jesus was almost certainly an angel.

Pretty as the conjunction of planets might be (and I do look forward to it!), I tend to agree with the priest.
 
Those who are expecting it to be magical or miraculous are going to be greatly disappointed. It’s basically just a -2 magnitude star-looking object and a 1.4 magnitude star-looking object getting close to each other. And personally, I don’t believe that this would have been the Christmas star.

D
 
Indeed, Saturn is significantly dimmer than Jupiter and so it cannot add much in the way of brightness.

Even so, I think it will be a pretty nice sight. Anyone who has a good enough telescope might be able to see the bands of Jupiter, the rings of Saturn, and maybe some of their moons, all at the same time. Here is a composite image that simulates the relative size and position, but not the relative brightnesss:

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Yeah, if I still had my 8" dobsonian, I’d probably take it outside and have a look. However, I gave it away some years ago. Eyeball is good enough for me; I really don’t have the eyesight for live telescope observation.

D
 
Particularly if it is best distinguished via magnification. The duration of the phenomenon would also apply, as the slow journey of the Magi would have taken a considerable amount of time.
 
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DaveBj said:
Yeah, if I still had my 8" dobsonian, I’d probably take it outside and have a look.
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Ive still got my 8 inch Schmidt–Cassegrain on a Newtonian automated mount. I took it out the other day to grab a glance. When I put my camera in it with an additional lens I can make out the color bands on Jupiter and the rings of Saturn.

Was a bit disappointed to see that the two planets set not long after sun set (see the Astro clock below). Most of their time above the horizon is during the day when one can’t see them. Shortly after they become visible for me, their visibility comes and goes as they pass behind the branches of the tree line.

I thought about taking my scope to a parking lot…but not sure if the site is worth the effort.

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I have no clue how to read all that but just wanted to say, I like it. I think my Apple Watch has a similar face but I don’t know how to read all the dials on that one either! ❤️
 
I’ve been looking forward to this, been watching Saturn and Jupiter getting close to each other, with Mars prominent as well for a couple of months, but got a text from the NHS yesterday telling me I had to self isolate for ten days, so will probably have to miss it
 
I’m going to miss it due to clouds!

If you have a window with an unobstructed view in the direction of sunset, and the sky is clear, look shortly after sunset for the brightest celestial object other than the Moon. That should be Jupiter, with Saturn very close to it but dimmer.
 
I wish I could see it, but it’s been raining the last few days and will still be raining for most of next week, so won’t be able to see anything in the sky.
 
Beryllos said:
I’m going to miss it due to clouds!

If you have a window with an unobstructed view in the direction of sunset, and the sky is clear, look shortly after sunset for the brightest celestial object other than the Moon. That should be Jupiter, with Saturn very close to it but dimmer
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Clouds are a big factor but I thought they said this should last about a week.
 
They have been working their way towards each other in the early evening sky for a while now.

My question is how can folks say this is the Christmas Star when the Magi were looking at a star in the east, and the planets are clearly visible in the southwest.

Maybe the Magi were really, really bad a directions.
 
gam197 said:
but I thought they said this should last about a week.
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Yes, they will still be pretty close for days. I looked up a graph of their angular separation:
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Note: This graph covers from a week before to a week after the conjunction, i.e., Dec 14-28. The minimum separation is about 0.1 degree. For comparison, the angular width of the full Moon is about 0.5 degree.
 
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We have seen his star out in the east, and we have come to worship him

and all at once the star which they had seen in the east was there going before them, till at last it stood still over the place where the child was.

Seems the star was in the east by my reading.
 
Beryllos said:
If you have a window with an unobstructed view in the direction of sunset,
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What, roughly, is the elevation? We have an unobstructed view of the whole sky, all 360 degrees of it, but only above the treetops. We’re completely surrounded by woodlands, not quite so dense on the west side, but even so …
 
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