Great Conjunction

A Great Conjunction is when the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn appear close together when viewed from Earth. On Dec. 21, the planets will appear so close together that they will almost look like one point of light to the unaided eye. The two planets will be just above the horizon, and will set a few hours after the Sun.

Jupiter and Saturn are still very far apart, but our view from the Earth, represented by the yellow arrow, makes it look like they are touching.

A rare celestial event is just days away. David Biggar explains what’s behind the Christmas Star.

Earth’s orbit around the sun takes 1 year to complete, but it takes Jupiter and Saturn much longer.