Posted in Nebraska December 07, 2020 by Delana Lefevers

A Christmas Star Will Light Up The Nebraska Sky For The First Time In Centuries

This year, the topper on your tree won’t be the only twinkling star to draw oohs and ahhs. A rare celestial event is going to happen this month that will take your breath away, and you won’t want to miss it.

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It's not that unusual for Jupiter and Saturn to appear very close to one another in the night sky. (In reality, they're hundreds of millions of miles apart.) It happens near the winter solstice every 20 years, but this year is special.

In 2020, the two planets will be so visually close to one another that they will appear to be one big, bright star. It's being referred to as "great conjunction," and it's exceptionally rare.

The last time the two planets formed the bright "double star" that we'll see this December was in the year 1623. Isn't it stunning to think that early astronomer Galileo Galilei looked up and saw the same celestial event that we'll be gazing at in just a couple of weeks?

Johannes Kepler, another early astronomer, studied the planets' orbits and figured out how to calculate past celestial events. He revealed that an even rarer triple conjunction between Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus took place in or around 5 B.C. Some astronomers believe that this was the Star of Bethlehem from the story of the Three Wise Men.

While this year's Christmas star won't be quite as stunning as that one, it's still going to be a magical sight to behold. It will be visible all Christmas week, but optimum viewing will be in the western sky, right at sunset, on December 21st, the winter solstice.

This Christmas, tell the kids to take a short break from trying to spot Santa's sleigh in the sky and look at the bright "Christmas star." The next time the two planets will align to form such a brilliant sight is in 2080.

Are you planning to go outside and watch for the Christmas Star this month? Where do you think the best viewing spot in Nebraska will be? Tell us about it in the comments!