Seychelles to witness rare and special astronomical event after 397 years |11 December 2020

A depiction of the great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn as will be seen from Seychelles (Photo source: Stellarium)

The great conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Saturn will take place on December 21, allowing us to witness the two planets as one single bright star, just south of the constellation Capricornus.

Speaking to a local, experienced astronomer and a fellow enthusiast, Seychelles NATION learned that a conjunction is when two objects appear close together in the sky, and a conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Saturn is called a great conjunction. It is said that this will be the closest great conjunction since July 16, 1623.

Typically, these two planets come close to each other once every 20 years as a result of their long orbits, however, they are usually separated by more than a degree. The 2020 great conjunction, however, will be an exceptionally close one, as the two planets will be separated by just one-tenth of a degree.

From our perspective here in Seychelles, the conjunction will be visible to the naked eye about an hour after sunset.

For the best viewing spot, try to get to the west coast of the island of Mahe and look west, closer to the horizon, in the same place where the sun sets.

For those who would like to see more details, you can make use of a telescope; this will allow you to see the two planets at the same, in the same field of view.

At the moment, the weather forecast for December 21 is predicting a thunder storm, however we should expect clearer skies in the following days when the conjunction will still be visible.

If you would like to get updates about the weather for around this period of time, a recommended website to visit is www.accuweather.com.

While the two planets will appear closest to each other on December 21, they will still be close enough to each other a few days before and after, so in the event that the weather is not ideal on this main day, you can still try again in the next few days.

It is an extremely rare and impressive event and for those who enjoy looking at the night sky, it is said to be an astronomical event that you would not want to miss. Our two local astronomers tell us that they have seen Jupiter and Saturn in the telescope many times on their own, but this will be the first time that they will be able to look at both of these planets simultaneously.

The great conjunction can be enjoyed by the whole family and even if you don't have a telescope, you can try and make use of a good pair of binoculars to see if you are able to separate the bright point of light into two. Even with just the naked eye, we should all be able to enjoy this rare astronomical event.

Just think, the next great conjunctions after this year will take place in 2040 and 2060, and even then, Jupiter and Saturn will be 11 times further apart than the one we will witness before the end of the year.  

F. P.

References: timeanddate.com; space.com