¿ Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2020 December 15 [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available. Great Conjunction: Saturn and Jupiter Converge Illustration Credit & Copyright: [3]Sebastian Voltmer Explanation: It's happening. [4]Saturn and [5]Jupiter are moving closer and will soon appear in almost exactly the same direction. Coincidentally, on the night of the [6]December solstice -- the longest night of the year in the north and the longest day in the south -- the long-awaited [7]Great Conjunction will occur. Then, about six days from now, [8]Saturn and Jupiter will be right next to each other -- as they are every 20 years. But this juxtaposition is not just any [9]Great Conjunction -- it will be the closest since [10]1623 because the two planetary giants will pass only 1/10th of a [11]degree from each other -- well less than the apparent diameter of a full moon. In the next few days a [12]crescent moon will also pass a few degrees away from the [13]converging planets and give a preliminary [14]opportunity for iconic photos. The featured illustration shows the approach of [15]Saturn and Jupiter during November and December over the French [16]Alps. Growing Gallery: [17]Notable images of the Great Conjunction submitted to APOD Tomorrow's picture: meteor sky __________________________________________________________________ [18]< | [19]Archive | [20]Submissions | [21]Index | [22]Search | [23]Calendar | [24]RSS | [25]Education | [26]About APOD | [27]Discuss | [28]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [29]Robert Nemiroff ([30]MTU) & [31]Jerry Bonnell ([32]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [33]Specific rights apply. [34]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [35]ASD at [36]NASA / [37]GSFC & [38]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2012/SaturnJupiter_Voltmer_1920.jpg 3. https://apollo-13.eu/en/team/ 4. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/saturn/overview/ 5. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/jupiter/overview/ 6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_solstice 7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_conjunction 8. https://www.adlerplanetarium.org/blog/jupiter-and-saturn-great-conjunction/ 9. https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/great-jupiter-saturn-conjunction-dec-21-2020 10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1623 11. http://www.1728.org/angsize.htm 12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap201208.html 13. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2020/11/17/when-and-where-you-can-see-a-stunning-triangle-of-lights-as-jupiter-and-saturn-meet-the-moon-this-week/ 14. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/1615/how-to-photograph-the-conjunction-of-saturn-and-jupiter/ 15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap201212.html 16. https://youtu.be/XAo0B4klQWM 17. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=APOD.Sky&set=a.3211133262324204 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap201214.html 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 22. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 27. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=201215 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap201216.html 29. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 30. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 31. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 32. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 34. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 35. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 36. https://www.nasa.gov/ 37. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 38. http://www.mtu.edu/