The so-called “Christmas Star”, not visible at night for nearly 800 years, appears on the first night of Winter in the evening sky just after sunset as Jupiter and Saturn will appear as one giant star. Your pinky finger, held at arm’s length, should cover both planets. This is referred to as a great conjunction of the planets and was last seen by humans on March 4, 1226. It will happen again on March 15, 2080. Beware the Ides of March in 60 years!
Take a look at how the conjunction has come to be over the past two months. Astronomers have computed that this conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn occurred in 7 BC.
After some early morning cloudiness and a high temperature in the upper 40’s we are hopeful that evening skies will clear enough to see the “Christmas Star”.
Tuesday and Wednesday should bring mostly sunny skies with temps remaining in the upper 40’s.
Rain and warmer air will threaten to wash away snow currently on the ground later this week in parts of the Northeast, meaning some locations will have a Christmas that is more green than white, especially in coastal communities: https://t.co/Mt8VqWMIKo pic.twitter.com/5ILKQHkfze
— Breaking Weather by AccuWeather (@breakingweather) December 21, 2020