RECIPES

Monday 21 December 2020

Astronomical Excitement

 

So much is happening in the heavens at the moment, and it is quite exciting to go outdoors in the evening and look at it all.  As well, today is our summer solstice – although the actual time is not until 11.02pm.

High up in our skies lies the planet of Mars, looking quite bright and reddish this year.  It is the closest it will come to the earth for another fifteen years.

But the biggest heavenly event of all is the visual conjunction of the two great planets Jupiter and Saturn, to be seen in our western skies for an hour or so after sunset before they sink below the horizon.  I have been watching these each night, (when there is no cloud), and seeing them come closer and closer together. 

The brighter star is Jupiter, 763 million kilometres away from earth, with the fainter Saturn being a further 856 million kilometres beyond that again.

Jupiter and Saturn visually pass each other in their orbits around the sun about every twenty years, but the last time they appeared this close together was 1623.  That sighting was obscured by the nearness of the sun, so the last plainly visible sighting of this phenomenon was in 1226 – making it a rare thing to see now.


The breaking of a new dawn


Astrologically, this Great Conjunction is occurring at 0 degrees in Aquarius and pointing to great change and new beginnings around the earth.  Add this with the current solstice, also a time of change, and a first quarter moon being in our skies (considered a critical point of no return, the last show-down before the crescendo of the full moon is reached), and one wonders what the next couple of years are going to bring.  Hopefully a change for the better.

May the blessings of happiness be upon you,

Margaret 😊



13 comments:

  1. It's raining here, so we won't be able to see it. Still, I am looking forward to better days.

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  2. And here we are stuck in a city full of light pollution and not permitted to leave town or be out after 9pm. We like the idea of taking some time to witness rare events. Have a great Christmas. F & Mr T

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  3. I must remember to look up tonight if the skies clear :) B x

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  4. I heard this on our national news, but they gave no details, thank you for this post, very interesting.

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  5. Hello,

    Beautiful scene and photo. It sounds like a great time to be skywatching!
    Have a great day and week ahead. Merry Christmas to you and yours!

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  6. The night sky is eternally fascinating. I wish I knew more about it.

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  7. I am hoping for clear, here, too. We have had so much overcast weather if late it will be a miracle if it is.

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  8. Wish the sky was clear here so we could see everything that you can see.
    A change? I hope it's a change for the better

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  9. I love your new Header.

    How delightful to be able to see this celestial show!!!

    Here, it would be too cold, to go out and look, anyway. -smile-

    Enjoy some for me. Please...

    🌲🔥🌲😊🌲🔥🌲

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  10. Beautiful photo and wonderful post. I'm going to be checking out the night sky after sunset tonight!

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  11. I'm hoping that next year will be alot more positive. Have a good Christmas and stay safe.

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Thank-you for visiting my blog. I love it when you leave a comment so please feel free to have your say. Have a great day! Margaret xx