The “Christmas Star” Visible For The 1st Time In 800 Years

Apparently, not everything in 2020 is terrible.  This December, people who are into stargazing will actually have something to look forward to.

According to WJW TV, the "Christmas Star" will be visible for the first time in 800 years.  Also known as "The Star of Bethlehem" it is formed by the alignment of Jupiter and Saturn.

According to the experts, the alignment has not occurred this way in nearly a millennium.  Yes, the last time it was visible the world was a much different place.  Countries were ruled by monarchs, travel was on foot (or horse), and it would be hundreds of years before someone invented the pumpkin spice latte.

Patrick Hartigan, an astronomer at Rice University, says:

Alignments between these two planets are rather rare, occurring once every 20 years or so, but this conjunction is exceptionally rare because of how close the planets will appear to be to one another. You’d have to go all the way back to just before dawn on March 4, 1226, to see a closer alignment between these objects visible in the night sky.

Want to see it?  While it will be visible off and on throughout the latter part of December, one of the best times to see it will be just about 45 minutes after sunset on December 21st.  Just look toward the southwest portion of the sky.

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