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PHOTOS: Great Dazzles Conjunction Stargazers Around the World

A chance to see a remarkable occurrence in the night sky was not missed by stargazers around the world. Jupiter and Saturn appeared closer to each other on Monday evening than they had for hundreds of years, in what became known as the Great Conjunction. A view from the Planet is their proximity. Th

Planets Jupiter (left) and Saturn are seen during the Great Conjunction from the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.
Planets Jupiter (L) and Saturn are seen during the great conjunction from the Griffith Observatory on the same day as the winter solstice, December 21, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. – The great conjunction refers to the astronomical alignment of Jupiter and Saturn, the closest for nearly 400 years. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

A chance to see a remarkable occurrence in the night sky was not missed by stargazers around the world.

Jupiter and Saturn appeared closer to each other on Monday evening than they had for hundreds of years, in what became known as the Great Conjunction. A view from the Planet is their proximity. The planets are hundreds of millions of miles apart in space.

According to NASA, the locations of Jupiter and Saturn in the sky coincide “about once every 20 years,” but almost never this closely.

Patrick Hartigan, an astronomer at Rice University, said in a recent statement, “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,”

Photographers across the globe captured photos of gas giants that seem to move closely together and groups of individuals that drink in the unique sight.

People waiting at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.

People waiting at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.

People stand in a queue to see the Great Conjunction at the Maidan area in Kolkata, India.

People stand in a queue to see the Great Conjunction at the Maidan area in Kolkata, India.

A family at the border crossing between Mexico and the U.S. in Ciudad Juarez uses a telescope to view Jupiter and Saturn during the Great Conjunction.

A family at the border crossing between Mexico and the U.S. in Ciudad Juarez uses a telescope to view Jupiter and Saturn during the Great Conjunction.

Kuwaiti photographers follow the alignment in al-Salmi district, a desert area about 75 miles west of Kuwait City.

Kuwaiti photographers follow the alignment in al-Salmi district, a desert area about 75 miles west of Kuwait City.

Jupiter and Saturn are seen coming together in the night sky, over the sails of Brill windmill in Brill, England.

Jupiter and Saturn are seen coming together in the night sky, over the sails of Brill windmill in Brill, England.

People watch the alignment in Edgerton, Kan.

People watch the alignment in Edgerton, Kan.

Jupiter, left, and Saturn appear about one-tenth of a degree apart. Here they are seen behind Christmas lights in Las Vegas.

Jupiter, left, and Saturn appear about one-tenth of a degree apart. Here they are seen behind Christmas lights in Las Vegas.

Kuwaiti astrophotographers Mohammad al-Obaidi, right, and Abdullah al-Harbi follow the Great Conjunction in al-Salmi district, a desert area west of Kuwait City.

Kuwaiti astrophotographers Mohammad al-Obaidi, right, and Abdullah al-Harbi follow the Great Conjunction in al-Salmi district, a desert area west of Kuwait City.

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Daniel Jack

For Daniel, journalism is a way of life. He lives and breathes art and anything even remotely related to it. Politics, Cinema, books, music, fashion are a part of his lifestyle.

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