In the unlikely event that you may have missed this huge astronomy news, today is the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. And this evening you will be able to see the “Great Conjunction,” in which the two largest planets in our solar system – Jupiter and Saturn – will nearly overlap to form a “double planet.” You can spot the two planets after sunset in the southwestern sky. The two planets will not appear this close in the sky again until 2080.
Our intrepid sky watcher and Hancock Park neighbor, Linda Sanoff, is planning to be out there tonight to capture the event for the Buzz. She was practicing last night when a neighbor called out, “it’s tomorrow!” Which is today, so we are reminding you in case you want to catch it yourself.
Here are some helpful links Linda passed along on what “The Great Conjunction” is and how to photograph it. Please send us what you shoot and we’ll be happy to share with our Buzz skywatching community.
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/whats-up-skywatching-tips-from-nasa/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/saturn-jupiter-winter-solstice-great-conjunction/
https://nasa.tumblr.com/post/637859420873818112/the-great-conjunction-of-jupiter-and-saturn
