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23/12/20 12:25 PM IST

Jupiter and Saturn will meet again

In news

Jupiter and Saturn are the two largest planets visible to the naked eye, hence the expression ‘Great Conjunction’

Highlights
  • A pairing between any pair of planets is a conjunction.
  • These two align roughly every 20 years, which is relatively rare compared to the alignments of planets closer to the Sun.
  • Jupiter orbits the Sun once in 12 years, and Saturn once in 30.
  • The last Great Conjunction happened in 1623.
  • Galileo had discovered four of Jupiter’s moons with his telescope a few years previously — but scientists today believe Galileo would not have found it easy to see the conjunction, because the planets were aligned too close to the Sun from Earth’s perspective.
  • The next two conjunctions are in 2040 and 2060.
  • March 15, 2080 will have almost exactly the same separation as this one does, and will be much easier to see, according to Rice University. 
Source: Indian Express

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