Sky watchers in Bahrain are in for an end of year treat… as today, two of the largest planets in the solar system will be seen merging in the night sky.
Bahrain’s sky will witness a rare astronomical phenomena on December 21, 2020. This rare astronomical event will see Jupiter and Saturn line up very close to each other, which is an event that takes place about once every 20 years and will last for nearly two hours.
Astronomers say so-called conjunctions between the two largest planets in our solar system aren’t particularly rare. Jupiter passes its neighbor Saturn in their respective laps around the sun every 20 years.
But the one coming up is especially close: Jupiter and Saturn will be just one-tenth of a degree apart from our perspective or about one-fifth the width of a full moon. It is said to be the closest visible conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in 800 years.
They should be easily visible around the world a little after sunset, weather permitting.