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Your photos of 2020’s historic Jupiter-Saturn conjunction

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Fotis Mavroudakis in Kavala, Greece, captured this image on December 21, 2020. He wrote: “… since the prolonged low cloudscape in the region of northern Greece would leave no room for observation of the sky, I decided to literally climb above the clouds. At an altitude of about 1820 meters (5970 feet) on the second highest peak of Paggaio mountain, the cloudscape transformed into a sea, leaving you to admire, undisturbed, the magnificent kissing of the planets.” Thank you, Fotis!

Jupiter and Saturn, the two brightest and largest gas planets in our solar system, appeared unusually close on the sky from our point of view in their great conjunction on December 21, 2020. At their closest, they were only 0.1 degree apart, closer than for many centuries. There was a big question about this conjunction. At their closest, would Jupiter and Saturn appear as a single star? The answer was no, they didn’t. Nearly all observers reported they could distinguish between the brighter world (Jupiter) and the fainter one (Saturn). EarthSky community members from around the world have been contributing photos of the pair for weeks. See a collection of favorites here, and go to EarthSky Community Photos for many, many more.

Read more: Before 2020 ends, a great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn

EarthSky’s lunar calendar shows the moon phase for every day in 2021. Order yours before they’re gone!

Jupiter and Saturn are still close, by the way, and still easy to spot directly after sunset in the early evening, for about two hours until they set. If you’d like to submit an image, you can do so here. Thanks to all for sharing your photos with us!

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | The December 21, 2020, conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn was seen from cities, suburbs and under wide-open rural skies, from around the world. Paul Peh captured the pair from Honolulu, Hawaii, on December 21 from his living room window, looking out into the Pacific Ocean. View larger to see that Jupiter and Saturn look double … not like a single star. Thanks, Paul!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Gizaw Legesse in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, captured this photo on December 22, 2020. He wrote: “Post-Great-Conjunction, Jupiter’s moon caught with a regular camera while the two giant planets are departing from their rare type of alignment.” Thank you, Gizaw!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Miguel Sala in Betxí, Castellón, Spain, captured this photo of the conjunction on December 21, 2020. He wrote: “Jupiter and Saturn conjunction over ‘Sant Antoni Hermitage’ in Betxí (Castellón, Spain).” Thanks, Miguel!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Christopher Hamma in Arroyo Grande, California, USA, captured this photo of the pair on December 21, 2020. He wrote “Great conjunction, handheld photo from approximate latitude of 35 north, longitude 120 west.” Thank you, Christopher!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Luca Balestrieri Cosimelli in Sutri, Italy, captured this photo of the conjunction on December 21, 2020. He wrote: “Never before today we could see Jupiter and Saturn so close to each other, to the naked eye they looked like a single point of light, but the proximity is only apparent, the real distance between them is about 700 million kilometers. Having been able to see them together in the same field of view of the telescope was spectacular, for those who missed it the next conjunction between the two planets will happen in 2080. This image has been obtained from the processing of a single video that my AstroWife and I shot last evening, despite the hazy sky it was better than we feared!” Thanks, Luca!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Manuel Pacheco in Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche, Mexico, captured this photo of the conjunction on December 21, 2020. He wrote: “The great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, known as Belen’s Star.” Thanks, Manuel!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Steven Bellavia in Mattituck, New York, captured this photo of Jupiter and Saturn on December 21, 2020. Thank you, Steven!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Eliot Herman superimposed the December 21 conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn with an image of the moon. He wrote: “Historic close conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in Tucson AZ. This groups the moon from a prior day for scale with the close conjunction showing how close it was.”
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Zolt Levay captured Jupiter and its moons with Saturn on the day of the conjunction and solstice. He wrote: “The weather cooperated (mostly) tonight so I got a chance to photograph the great Jupiter/Saturn conjunction at their closest. The photo shows all four Galilean moons of Jupiter, the two brightest moons of Saturn, and three background stars. This photo is a composite of several frames at different exposures to capture the planets and the moons. It was pretty windy though so the camera was being moved around enough that the photos aren’t quite as sharp as they could be, but there is a bit of detail in the planets. Tech: Nikon D850, Celestron C5 (1250mm, f/10), iOptron CEM25P drive; exposures: 1/25 sec., ISO 320, 1 sec., ISO 1250, 2 sec., ISO 3200.”
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Greg Diesel-Walck captured Jupiter and Saturn next to each other during the 2020 great conjunction. Thank you, Greg.

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Michael Teoh at Heng Ee Observatory in Penang, Malaysia, captured this photo of the great conjunction on December 21, 2020. He wrote: “It was cloudy the whole afternoon until sunset, and then magic happened. I’m really glad that I was able to witness and capture the moment, as I would be exactly 100 years old the next time the two gas giants get this close.” Thanks, Michael!

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Niccole Neely in Phoenix, Arizona, captured Jupiter and Saturn as they approach their conjunction. Of this photo taken December 19, Niccole wrote: “Jupiter & Saturn dancing in the sky! What a spectacular time to witness these brilliant planets in the night sky.”

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Ji-Hoon Kim in Seoul, Korea, captured this photo of Jupiter and Saturn on December 20, 2020. He wrote: “Saturn and Jupiter are finally in one view of the CCD.” Thanks, Ji-Hoon!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Hong Taengal in Busan, South Korea captured this photo of Jupiter and Saturn over the Diamond Bridge on December 20, 2020. Thanks, Hong!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | VegaStarC Liard in Champagne-Ardenne, France, captured this photo of Jupiter and Saturn on December 18, 2020, as they approach their great conjunction on December 21, and wrote: “‘Catch us!’ says the planet Jupiter and its friend Saturn :-).” Thank you, VegaStarC!
View larger at EarthSky Community Photos. | Eliot Herman captured a star emerging from behind a moon of Jupiter. This occultation photo was taken December 20, 2020. Eliot wrote: “Captured with a Questar telescope and a Nikon D500 camera in Tucson AZ – the blue star shows a small separation emerging from occultation. Apparently a quite rare event. After recording a number of lunar occultations of stars and planets this one is great. The four moons of Jupiter are visible and Titan near Saturn.”
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Marek Nikodem in Szubin, Poland, captured this photo of the young moon with Jupiter and Saturn on December 17, 2020. Thank you, Marek!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Riste Spiroski in Ohrid, Macedonia, captured this image on Decdembwr 18, 2020, of the moon, Jupiter and Saturn just 3 days before the planets’ great conjunction on December 21.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Filipp Romanov from Yuzhno-Morskoy (near Nakhodka), Russia, captured this image on December 17, 2020. He wrote: “It looked very beautiful in the evening sky! First, I photographed the conjunction of the Moon, Jupiter and Saturn above the sea ice on the coast, and later I watched their setting over the horizon of the Sea of Japan.” Thank you, Filipp!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Nikunj Rawal in Jamnagar, Gujarat, India, captured this photo on December 17, 2020. He wrote: “Trio of the moon, Jupiter and Saturn days before the extremely close conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn.” Thank you, Nikunj!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Photo by Hazarry Ali Ahmad on the island of Borneo. Hazarry said: “Despite it being cloudy, the celestial trio – Jupiter, Saturn and the crescent moon – offered a spectacular sight in the twilight sky from Brunei Darussalam on December 17, 2020.” Thanks Hazarry!
View on EarthSky Community Photos | Stephanie Smith in Miracle Valley, Arizona, USA, captured this photo of the earthshine-illuminated moon with Jupiter and Saturn above on December 16, 2020. She wrote: “I went out to view the moon and planets at sunset. As I drove west I was hoping to come across some Christmas lights to use as a foreground element, when the dome of the old Miracle Valley church compound, (now deserted) presented a glimmering setting.” Thank you Stephanie!
View on EarthSky Community Photos | Gustavo Wilches-Chaux in Bogotá, Colombia, captured this photo of Jupiter and Saturn above the young moon on December 16, 2020. He wrote: “I follow the sky day and night and to be connected to it has been very important for me during this pandemic.” Agreed, thank you Gustavo!
Eliot Herman in Tucson, Arizona, captured this image of the moon, Jupiter and Saturn December 16. See the moon in the viewfinder? Thanks, Eliot!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Joel Weatherly in Edmonton, Aberta, Canada captured the trio on December 16, 2020 and wrote, “This evening the waxing crescent moon met up with Jupiter and Saturn in our evening sky. Jupiter and Saturn are getting remarkably close as we are now less than a week away from the great conjunction.” Thank you, Joel!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Yaroslav Kourzenkov captured the approaching pair of Jupiter and Saturn together with the young moon at Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada, in the evening of December 16, 2020. Thanks, Yaroslav!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Matt Lantz in Fort Worth, Texas, captured the gas giant pair together with the young moon next to a church steeple on December 16, 2020. He wrote: “In looking forward to Jupiter and Saturn’s conjunction on the 21st, I noticed the moon would be within 5 degrees of them both and right over my church! I was glad for a clear night.” Thanks, Matt!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Laura Linde in Oviedo, Asturias, Spain, captured the young moon illuminated by earthshine, with the Jupiter and Saturn couple above, in the early evening of December 16, 2020. Look closely and you can see the Galilean moons around Jupiter. Thank you, Laura!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Nate White caught the trio from in San Diego, California – with his phone – on December 16, 2020. Thank you, Nate!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Lauren Zenovka from Ventura, California, captured Jupiter and Saturn and the new moon on December 15, 2020. She wrote: “Sunset sky with the beautiful crescent moon and Jupiter and Saturn.” Thank you, Lauren!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Hazarry Ali Ahmad captured this image of Jupiter and Saturn from Kampong Keriam, Brunei Darussalam, on December 9, 2020. He wrote: “The duo planets, Saturn and Jupiter, over the western horizon at sunset. In the next few days, Jupiter and Saturn will get super close for the great planetary conjunction, a rare celestial alignment!” Thank you, Hazarry!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Tom Wildoner at the Dark Side Observatory in Weatherly, Pennsylvania, captured this photo of Jupiter and Saturn on December 8, 2020. Thank you, Tom!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Patrick Prokop in Savannah, Georgia, USA, captured this image of Saturn and Jupiter and their brightest moons on December 5, 2020, in the same field of view of his telescope. That’s how close they are now! He wrote: “Jupiter and Saturn are very near each other in the southwestern evening sky. Even though these 2 look to be separated in this telescopic view, they appear very near each other in the sky. You can even see 4 of the Galilean moon of Jupiter and 3 moons of Saturn.” Thank you, Patrick!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Chix RC in Glendale, California, captured this photo of Jupiter and Saturn on December 5, 2020. He wrote: “Jupiter and Saturn over a beautiful city view from Tongva Peak Verdugo Mountains.” Thanks, Chix!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Andrea Deegan in Oyster Harbour, Western Australia, captured this image on the evening of December 3, 2020. She said: “Jupiter and Saturn becoming closer as they near conjunction. This is about an hour and a half after sunset.” Notice how the position of the planets is mirrored when looking from this southern vantage point? On the day of conjunction they will be visible in twilight and set about 2 hours after sunset. Thank you, Andrea!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Mark Sansom in Melbourne, Australia, captured this image on the evening of December 2, 2020. Even with the strong light pollution from a major city like Melbourne, the planets are easily discernable.  Thank you, Mark!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Matt Lantz in Aledo, Texas, caught this image on the evening of November 19, 2020. See the streak? It’s the International Space Station. Matt wrote: “Was waiting to pick up my daughter from soccer practice and managed to catch the ISS as it passed right by the moon, Jupiter, and Saturn all right next to each other. Pretty cool!” Thank you, Matt!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Emma Zulaiha Zulkifli in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, captured this photo of Saturn, Jupiter and the waxing crescent moon in the early evening of November 18, 2020. If you look closely, you can see 2 of Jupiter’s moons, Callisto and Ganymede. Emma wrote: “After sunset, it was starting to clear on the western sky. I could see the clouds illuminated by the moon. I was able to capture the moon, earthshine and both planets Jupiter and Saturn. The celestial objects are visible and obvious to see by unaided eye.” Thank you, Emma!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | David Byers in the Texas Hill Country captured this photo of Jupiter and Saturn on November 15, 2020. He wrote: “Jupiter and Saturn visible above and to the left of the barn.” Thank you, David!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Michael Zuber in Texas captured this photo of Jupiter and Saturn with a magnificent Milky Way backdrop in Terlingua on November 11, 2020. He wrote: “Milky Way over Terlingua Ghost Town. I got lucky and captured a meteor. Jupiter and Saturn are also prominent in the photo”. Thank you, Michael!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Randy Shetter in Palos Verdes, California, captured this photo of Saturn and Jupiter above Santa Catalina Island on November 11, 2020. He wrote: “Sunset at the beach of Palos Verdes, California, with Jupiter and Saturn. I was trying also to capture the Milky Way, but there was still too much ambient light. In the background is Santa Catalina Island.” Thank you, Randy!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Brian Mollenkopf from Rushville, Ohio, captured an image of the Milky Way as Jupiter and Saturn close in on each other above a covered bridge on November 9, 2020. Thank you, Brian!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Gene Hettel in Calamba, Laguna, Philippines, captured this image on November 8, 2020. Jupiter and Saturn are in the upper left of the photo. Jupiter is the brighter object. Gene wrote: “Saturn and Jupiter drawing ever closer toward their December 21 rendezvous.” Thank you, Gene!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Aurelian Neacsu captured this image in Visina, Dambovita, Romania, on November 8, 2020. Thank you, Aurelian!

Check out our latest video project, summarizing the monthly planet guides, and let us know how we can make it even better!

Bottom line: The two gas giant planets Jupiter and Saturn came within 0.1 degree on the sky’s dome on December 21, 2020. Thank you to EarthSky community members from around the world who captured the pair (and some of their moons!) and contributed to this gallery!

View more photos of Jupiter and Saturn at EarthSky Community Photos.

Read more: Jupiter and Saturn’s great conjunction on December 21

Posted 
December 22, 2020
 in 
Astronomy Essentials

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