Jupiter And Saturn Form The So-Called 'Christmas Star' In The Sky

Jupiter and Saturn, the 2 largest planets in our solar system, are coming closer together than they have been since the Middle Ages, and it's happening right before Christmas, hence the nickname of the "Christmas Star."

On the night of December 21, Jupiter and Saturn will appear so close to one another that they will look like a bright splash in the night sky.

"Alignments between these two planets are rather rare, occurring once every 20 years or so, but this conjunction is exceptionally rare because of how close the planets will appear to one another," "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." said astronomer Patrick Hartigan, a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University in Houston.

To read this article in full, please visit: cnn.com