Editing Great conjunction (section)

== Notable great conjunctions ==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of close great conjunctions consisting of all events under 9.95 [[arcminutes]] between AD&nbsp;1 and 3000,{{efn|Dates before 1582 are in the [[Julian calendar]] while dates after are in the [[Gregorian calendar]].}} plus other notable events.<ref name="auto1" /><ref name="auto3" />
|-
! Date !! [[Ecliptic coordinates]] ([[J2000|non-rotating/star tracking]]) !! Separation (in arcminutes) !! Visibility<br />{{efn|There is always at least a small area around one or both poles that cannot see due to [[midnight sun]] or midnight twilight; this is not mentioned when the conjunction is easily visible from most of each hemisphere.}} !! Notes
|-
| | 1 March 1793 BC ||153.4°|| 1.3 || Evening || The closest conjunction between [[prehistory|prehistoric times]] and the 46th century AD. Part of triple conjunction.
|-
| | 28 December 424 BC ||322.8°|| 1.5 || Evening, hard to see. || |
|-
| | 6 March 372 ||316.6°|| 1.9 || Morning || The closest conjunction of the first three millennia AD.
|-
| | 31 December 431 ||320.6°|| 6.2 || Evening, hard to see. || |
|-
| | 13 September 709 ||130.8°|| 8.3 || Morning, part of a triple conjunction. || |
|-
| | 22 July 769 ||137.8°|| 4.3 || Too close to the Sun to be visible. || |
|-
| | 11 December 1166 ||303.3°|| 2.1 || Evening, hard to see. || |
|-
| | 4 March 1226 ||313.8°|| 2.1 || Morning || |
|-
| | 25 August 1563 ||125.3°|| 6.8 || Morning || |
|-
| | 16 July 1623 ||131.9°|| 5.2 || Evening, hard to see (especially from Northern Hemisphere). || |
|-
| | 21 December 2020 ||300.3°|| 6.1 || Evening, hard to see from high northern latitudes, not visible in Antarctic (poor angle, [[midnight sun|summer sun]]). || 303+ degree [[heliocentric]] longitude close to the ideal 317 degree [[orbital plane|orbit plane]] intersection longitude for closeness ([[J2000]])
|-
| | 15 March 2080 ||310.8°|| 6.0 || Morning, hard to see from mid and high northern latitudes|| |
|-
| | 24 August 2417 ||119.6°|| 5.4 || Morning, not easy to impossible to see from parts of the Southern Hemisphere [[midnight sun|and Arctic]]. || |
|-
| | 6 July 2477 ||126.2°|| 6.3 || Evening, easier to see in the Southern Hemisphere. || |
|-
| | 25 December 2874 ||297.1°|| 2.3 || Evening, [[midnight sun|summer sun]] hinders viewing in Antarctica. || |
|-
| | 19 March 2934 ||307.6°|| 9.3 || Morning || |
|-
| | 8 March 4523 ||287.8°|| 1.0 || Morning, not easy to see from high northern latitudes and the South Pole area due to a low height above the horizon and/or [[midnight sun]] or "midnight twilight". || The closest conjunction in almost 14,400 years.<ref name="auto3" />

|}

{{Bar chart|float=left
| title = Events closer than 9.95 arcmin AD&nbsp;1–3000, sorted by direction
| data_max = 8
| label_type = Longitude (from Earth)
| data_type = Number of conjunctions
| label1 = 119 to 138 degrees | data1 = 6
| label2 = 297 to 321 degrees | data2 = 8
| label3 = Other | data3 = 0
}}
{{clear}}

=== 7&nbsp;BC ===
[[File:Sky Jerusalem South-7BC-11-12.gif|thumb|A simulated view of the great conjunction of 7&nbsp;BC as viewed from [[Jerusalem]] on the evening of 12 November.|upright=1.4]]
When studying the great conjunction of 1603, [[Johannes Kepler]] thought that the [[Star of Bethlehem]] might have been the occurrence of a great conjunction. He calculated that a triple conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn occurred in 7&nbsp;BC (−6 using [[astronomical year numbering]]);<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Kepler and the Star of Bethlehem
|last=Burke-Gaffney |first=W.
|journal=[[Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada]] |year=1937 |volume=31 |page=417 |bibcode=1937JRASC..31..417B |url=http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1937JRASC..31..417B |access-date=2020-05-27}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |first=Michael R. |last=Molnar |title=The Star of Bethlehem: The Legacy of the Magi |publisher=[[Rutgers University Press]] |year=1999}}</ref>

=== 1563 ===
The astronomers from the [[Cracow Academy]] ([[Jan Muscenius]], Stanisław Jakobejusz, Nicolaus Schadeck, Petrus Probosczowicze, and others) observed the great conjunction of 1563 to compare [[Alfonsine tables]] (based on a [[geocentric model]]) with the [[Prutenic Tables]] (based on [[Copernican heliocentrism]]). In the [[Prutenic Tables]] the astronomers found Jupiter and Saturn so close to each other that Jupiter covered Saturn<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Kesten|first=Hermann|title=Copernicus and his World|publisher=New York: Roy Publishers|year=1945|pages=320}}</ref> (actual angular separation was 6.8 minutes on 25 August 1563<ref name="auto3" />). The Alfonsine tables suggested that the conjunction should be observed on another day but on the day indicated by the Alfonsine tables the angular separation was a full 141 minutes. The Cracow professors suggested following the more accurate Copernican predictions and between 1578 and 1580 Copernican heliocentrism was lectured on three times by Valentin Fontani.<ref name=":0" />

This conjunction was also observed by [[Tycho Brahe]], who noticed that the Copernican and Ptolemaic tables used to predict the conjunction were inaccurate. This led him to realise that progress in astronomy required systematic, rigorous observation, night after night, using the most accurate instruments obtainable.<ref>{{cite book |last=Håkansson |first=Håkan |title=Att låta själen flyga mellan himlens tinnar |trans-title=Letting the soul fly among the turrets of the sky |publisher=Atlantis |page=45 |location=Stockholm |year=2006 |isbn=978-9173531047}}</ref>

=== 2020 ===

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[[File:Jupiter saturn separation 2020 Dec.png|thumb|Separation of Jupiter and Saturn around the time of the 2020 great conjunction]]

The great conjunction of 2020 was the closest since 1623<ref name="auto1" /><ref name="auto3" /> and eighth closest of the first three millennia AD, with a minimum separation between the two planets of 6.1 [[Minute and second of arc|arcminutes]].<ref name="auto3" /> This great conjunction was also the most easily visible close conjunction since 1226 (as the previous close conjunctions in 1563 and 1623 were closer to the Sun and therefore more difficult to see).<ref name="witness">{{cite web|url=https://www.wcia.com/news/witness-the-great-conjunction-of-jupiter-and-saturn-on-december-21st/|title=Witness the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn on December 21st|author=Jacob Dickey|publisher=WCIA|date=6 December 2020|access-date=20 December 2020}}</ref> It occurred seven weeks after the heliocentric conjunction, when Jupiter and Saturn shared the same heliocentric longitude.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hunt|first=Jeffrey L.|date=2020-09-11|title=2020, November 2: Jupiter – Saturn Heliocentric Conjunction|url=https://whenthecurveslineup.com/2020/09/11/2020-november-2-jupiter-saturn-heliocentric-conjunction/|access-date=2020-10-29|website=When the Curves Line Up|language=en}}</ref>

The closest separation occurred on 21 December at 18:20 UTC,<ref name="auto2" /> when Jupiter was 0.1° south of Saturn and 30° east of the Sun. This meant both planets appeared together in the field of view of most small- and medium-sized telescopes (though they were distinguishable from each other without optical aid).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-12-11 |title=2020: December 21: The Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn |url=https://whenthecurveslineup.com/2019/12/11/2020-december-21-the-great-conjunction-of-jupiter-and-saturn/ |access-date=2020-08-11 |website=When the Curves Line Up |language=en}}</ref> During the closest approach, both planets appeared to be a binary object to the naked eye.<ref name="witness" /> From mid-northern latitudes, the planets were visible one hour after sunset at less than 15° in altitude above the southwestern horizon in the constellation of [[Capricornus]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hunt |first=Jeffrey L. |date=2019-12-11 |title=2020: December 21: The Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn |url=https://whenthecurveslineup.com/2019/12/11/2020-december-21-the-great-conjunction-of-jupiter-and-saturn/ |access-date=2020-08-27 |website=When the Curves Line Up |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=5 upcoming conjunctions visible in the night sky, and how to see them |url=https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/advice/skills/conjunctions-in-night-sky-how-see/ |access-date=2020-08-17}}</ref>

The conjunction attracted considerable media attention, with news sources calling it the "Christmas Star" due to the proximity of the date of the conjunction to [[Christmas]], and for a great conjunction being one of the [[Star of Bethlehem#Planetary conjunction|hypothesized explanations]] for the biblical [[Star of Bethlehem]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/dec/14/starwatch-christmas-star-closest-great-conjunction-400-years-jupiter-saturn|title=Starwatch: 'Christmas star' is the closest great conjunction in almost 400 years|first=Stuart|last=Clark|newspaper=The Guardian |date=14 December 2020|via=www.theguardian.com}}</ref>

==== Gallery ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150px">

File:Grosse.Konjunktion.P1080051.jpg|Photograph taken two days before closest approach with a separation of approximately 15 arcminutes.
File:Great Conjunction image photographed on December 19, 2020.jpg|Great conjunction photographed on December 19, 2020, with a {{convert|14|in|mm|order=flip|abbr=on}} SCT telescope and color CCD.
File:2020 Great Conjunction simulation by NASA, labeled, 2020-12-21 2215UTC.jpg|Simulated best-case scenario view through a telescope.
File:Saturn—Jupiter—Conjunction.jpg|Photograph of the great conjunction of 2020 taken two days before closest approach with the four [[Galilean moons]] visible around Jupiter. ([[Titan (moon)|Titan]] can also be seen to the right of Saturn.)
File:KoniunkcjaJS.gif|December 21, 2020, Jupiter and Saturn, 130mm Bresser Messier
File:Grande congiunzione Giove Saturno 22 dicembre 2020ok.jpg|Photograph depicting the great conjunction, taken from Syracuse, Italy.
File:Great conjunction.jpg|Photograph of Jupiter and Saturn with the [[Moon]] on 16 December 2020
</gallery>

=== 7541 ===
As well as being a triple conjunction, the great conjunction of 7541 is expected to feature two [[occultation]]s: one partial on 16 February, and one total on 17 June.<ref name="auto2" /> Superimposition requires a separation of less than approximately 0.4 arcminutes. This will be the first occultation between the two planets since 6857 BC, and the only instance of two occultations within the same year in maybe a million years.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.solexorb.it/SolexOld/Jusatocc.txt|title=Was an occultation of Saturn by Jupiter ever seen, or will it ever be seen from Earth?|first=Aldo|last=Vitagliano|website=solexorb.it|author-link=Solex (software)|year=2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160722191042/http://www.solexorb.it/SolexOld/Jusatocc.txt|archive-date=22 July 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="auto3" />