Did you see the "Christmas Star"
December 23, 2020
Sheila Harris
The phrase “when the stars align” has taken on new meaning for me in connection with the stellar event that took place in the southwestern sky, Monday, December 21.
According to NASA astronomers, the planets Jupiter and Saturn reached their closest conjunction since the 17th century, and presented a spectacle that was the most easily viewed since the 13th century.
It was reported that the best vantage point for viewing a brief appearance of the planets as a single “star” or “double-planet” would be near the equator. For residents of southwest Missouri, however, they appeared to be pretty darned close. The two planets could be seen in the southwestern sky (a bit more to the south than to the west) as they descended toward the horizon during the hour or so immediately after sunset.
They can still be viewed during the nights to follow (cloud-covering-permitting), but the their proxmitiy will not appear to be quite as close.
Although heralded by many as a reappearance of the “Star of Bethlehem,” I’m not in a position to make that determination. Perhaps what appeared to be a “star” in the southwestern sky to us could be hailed as a star in the east by residents of the other side of the world.
Whatever one chooses to call it or what portent one ascribes to it, it’s worth taking a look at it. A four hundred-year-occurrence doesn’t roll around too often.
The phrase “when the stars align” has taken on new meaning for me in connection with the stellar event that took place in the southwestern sky, Monday, December 21.
According to NASA astronomers, the planets Jupiter and Saturn reached their closest conjunction since the 17th century, and presented a spectacle that was the most easily viewed since the 13th century.
It was reported that the best vantage point for viewing a brief appearance of the planets as a single “star” or “double-planet” would be near the equator. For residents of southwest Missouri, however, they appeared to be pretty darned close. The two planets could be seen in the southwestern sky (a bit more to the south than to the west) as they descended toward the horizon during the hour or so immediately after sunset.
They can still be viewed during the nights to follow (cloud-covering-permitting), but the their proxmitiy will not appear to be quite as close.
Although heralded by many as a reappearance of the “Star of Bethlehem,” I’m not in a position to make that determination. Perhaps what appeared to be a “star” in the southwestern sky to us could be hailed as a star in the east by residents of the other side of the world.
Whatever one chooses to call it or what portent one ascribes to it, it’s worth taking a look at it. A four hundred-year-occurrence doesn’t roll around too often.
