Rare 'Christmas Star' to Appear in the Sky This December

[Mortimer]

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[toobfreak]

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Yes, these two gas giants haven't been this close in about 800 years. But you don't have to wait until the 21st, they will still be very close a couple weeks before and after. Here on the East Coast of the US, the moment of closest approach will happen just as the sky is getting dark and the planets are setting in the West. You'll need an excellent view of the west horizon to see them.

The reason why is because for them to align like this so close, both planets usually need to be almost exactly on the opposite side of the Sun from us.

During closest approach, if you have a telescope, the pair will look like this:

 

[Damaged Eagle]

*****SMILE*****

 

[d0gbreath]

I saw this on the news last night and thought: eight hundred years? I need to grab a pic. So cool.

But, since it's in the western sky, calling it a Christmas star, which was in the east, is a stretch. Or, will it be in the east viewed from Bethlehem? Geography isn't my strong suit.

 

[Aletheia4u]

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Matthew 2:1
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem


Genesis 1:14
And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years,



Matthew 16:3
and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.

Silk Road - Wikipedia

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We all know China as the birthplace of some of the most popular schools of thought such as Confucianism and Taoism, but did you know that astrology is also one of its major contributions to mankind?

Chinese astrology is based on and tied to astronomy—the study of the positions, motions, and properties of objects in the universe, which flourished during the Han Dynasty.

Astrology in Different Cultures - Astrology.com.au

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[toobfreak]

I saw this on the news last night and thought: eight hundred years? I need to grab a pic. So cool.

But, since it's in the western sky, calling it a Christmas star, which was in the east, is a stretch. Or, will it be in the east viewed from Bethlehem? Geography isn't my strong suit.

No, the planets will be east of the Sun in Right Ascension no matter where you view it from so seen upon sunset, but I see no reason why a Christmas Star has to be confined to either the east or the west! Biblically speaking, depending on where you were coming from, though the 3 Wise Men needed to head east, other people might have needed to head west.

Indeed, as it is much easier and more likely to see a bright star in the evening just after dark than catch one just before the Sun rises (because most people are asleep), I rather like the idea. And with the combined light of Jupiter and Saturn, it should be a pretty conspicuous thing at around magnitude -1.8 to -2.0, est., brighter than the brightest star and very near most people's ability to resolve as two objects.