On
Dec 21st this year, Jupiter and Saturn have a conjunction that has them pass within 6 arcminutes of each other. They will be low in the evening sky, right after sunset.
I just took a look in Stellarium. I will have about 40 minutes through a gap in the trees to see them in twilight, at 15-10 degrees above the horizon. If you want a picture, plan your setup well. A planetary camera gives me too narrow a view to catch them both. On the other hand, my
DSO rig will show them as tiny little dots. My best chance of a decent photo is to hang my Atik 383L+ on my C-11. And I'll need to practise finding them in the twilight.
I hope some of you planetary APers will get some good shots. The last great conjunction, in 2000, was too close to the Sun to be observable. The one before that, was in 1980. This one will be the best since 1623.
Great Conjunction of 2020
DSO AP: Orion 200mm f/4 Newtonian Astrograph; ATIK 383L+; EFW2 filter wheel; Astrodon Ha,Oiii,LRGB filters; KWIQ/QHY5 guide scope;
Planetary AP: Celestron C-11; ZWO ASI120MC;
Portable: Celestron C-8 on HEQ5 pro; C-90 on wedge; 20x80 binos;
Etc: Canon 350D; Various EPs, etc.
Obs: 8' Exploradome; iOptron CEM60 (pier);
Helena Observatory (H2O) Astrobin
will the skies be clear by then I wonder. It would be nice.
