The Great Conjunction Around the World

If you missed the moment of the Great Conjunction on Monday, December 21, here are 11 images of this once in a lifetime phenomenon.

You can still see Jupiter and Saturn in the sky tonight, but they won't be as close as they were on the night of the Great Conjuction for many years.

December 23, 2020

By: Discovery

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Photo By: Levine/Elbert/Bosh/Lowell Discovery Telescope/NSF

Photo By: Jim Dyson

Photo By: Rodin Eckenroth

Photo By: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Photo By: Richard Heathcote

Photo By: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Photo By: Justin Sullivan

Photo By: Ethan Miller

Photo By: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Photo By: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani

Photo By: NASA/Joel Kowsky

Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, Arizona

At the peak of Jupiter and Saturn’s Great Conjunction, the two planets appeared separated by one-tenth of a degree. This rare cosmic event was captured by the Lowell Discovery telescope.

Brill, England

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

Santa Barbara, California

The planets, which remain about 450 million miles apart in space, have not appeared this close together from Earth's vantage point since 1623, and it's been nearly 800 years since the alignment occurred at night.

Luray, Virginia

Jupiter and Saturn are seen after sunset from Shenandoah National Park.

High Wycombe, England

Some think this Great Conjunction is what was considered the "Christmas Star," because depending on your vantage point, it can look like one big star.

Arlington, Virginia

Jupiter, left, and Saturn, right

Larkspur, California

Great Conjunction above Mt. Tamalpais.

Las Vegas, Nevada

These planets, though they look close from our perspective, are still 450 millon miles apart.

Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Jupiter, left, and Saturn, right, are seen during the “great conjunction” where the two planets appear a tenth of a degree apart from one another on the same night as the winter solstice.

Washington, DC

Jupiter, left, and Saturn, right, are seen during the “great conjunction” over the US capitol.

Alexandria, Virginia

The International Space Station is seen in this third of a second exposure passing between Saturn. This image was taken about a week before the night of the conjunctions.