Jupiter and Saturn have been nearing each other since the summer, and are set to reach their closest point on December 21.
In the days between December 16-25, Jupiter and Saturn will be separated by only a fifth of the diameter of a full moon.
Although they physically won’t be anywhere near each other, from Earth they will appear as a single point of bright light in the sky.
For those in London, the once-in-a-lifetime sighting will happen around an hour after sunset,
The next time the two planets will seem as close to each other in the sky will not be until March 15, 2080.
Hartigan explained, ‘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.’
He added that for those with telescopes, they should be able to see both planets and several of their largest moons on the evening of December 21.
