He showed Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar the way to Jesus. According to the Bible, the three wise men found the child’s crib through the Star of Bethlehem. It is unclear whether this heavenly phenomenon existed or whether it is just symbolism. A comet, a star explosion that can be seen on Earth or even a special constellation of planets: the latter is at least a more likely possibility and can be seen right on time for Christmas this year. In the evening sky of 21. December the two largest planets of our solar system Jupiter and Saturn merge for our eyes.

“The best that the universe for us has to offer for a long time ” With this so-called conjunction, the two planets of the Union of Star Friends come very close when viewed from earth. The reason: Both are traveling around the sun at different speeds. The faster Jupiter then overtakes the more distant Saturn. “This year’s overtaking maneuver is something special. The two planets will almost merge into a common point of light”, says the chairman of Sternfreunde Sven Melchert.

The overtaking comes all 20 years ago. But there will be a similarly close meeting again in the year 2080. And you can’t always see the spectacle. Years ago 20 years ago the giants were not visible in the night sky during the conjunction. And 2080 the closest approach will only take place in bright dawn. “The conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn is on 21. December 2020 is the best that the universe has to offer us for a long time, “emphasizes Melchert.

The weather doesn’t play along The two planets would currently be in the southwest sky in the evening. A telescope is not necessary for observation. The bright Jupiter will then stand to the left below the ring planet Saturn and with the naked eye one will no longer be able to separate the two from one another. With binoculars one can then see not only Jupiter but also some of its four large moons. The ring system of Saturn can also be seen with at least 30 – times magnification.

The weather on the evening of 21. December, however, will put a spanner in the works when looking at the rare drama in large parts of Germany. “It doesn’t look so good,” says a spokesman for the German Weather Service. The cloud cover will thicken in the western half. Fog and clouds prevented a view of the evening sky. Regionally, however, there are opportunities in the east and south-east. As well on 22. December, when the two planets are still close together, the weather doesn’t play along. “You need a lot of luck.”

Speculations about the Star of Bethlehem There was a similar meeting of the two planets at the turn of the ages. “But that is only one of the possibilities,” said Carolin Liefke from the House of Astronomy in Heidelberg about the speculations about the star of Bethlehem. Jupiter and Venus would also have had a similar constellation. Although the star has often been shown with a tail since the Middle Ages, a comet can very likely be excluded. It was considered a bad luck charm and that would certainly not have been written down. A supernova or a star explosion is also unlikely. Remnants should have been found there. “The Gospels were written much later.” Maybe it’s all just symbolism.

(bme)