Google Doodle celebrates Winter Solstice and Great Conjunction, a once in 800-year phenomenon; Watch Live with NASA

Google Doodle in its beautiful doodle, observes the Winter Solstice and the great conjunction today. The former is the shortest day and the longest night of the year. The solstice occurs when one of the Earth's poles has its maximum tilt away from the Sun. In the Northern Hemisphere, Winter Solstice takes place between December 19 and 23. This year it is on December 21. After Winter Solstice, days start becoming longer and nights shorter for people in the Northern Hemisphere. The reverse phenomenon takes place for people in the Southern Hemisphere.

This year's Winter Solstice coincides with another special astronomical event - the "Great Conjunction" of the Jupiter and Saturn. Today evening, Jupiter and Saturn will be in a rare planetary alignment. This close appearance has occurred in nearly 800 years. They won't appear this close until 2080.

About the Google Doodle

The animated Google Doodle exhibits Great Conjunction, wherein the Saturn and Jupiter meet up for a quick high five, and the Winter Solstice as the snow-capped Earth watches the other two planets.

Basically, Saturn and Jupiter will be within 0.1 degrees of each other. While the great conjunction occurs roughly every 20 years, the last time the event was as easily visible in the sky as it will be for this winter solstice was nearly 800 years ago.

In a blog post, Google Doodle states, "As Earth’s Northern Hemisphere hunkers down for winter and its longest night of the year, it seems Jupiter and Saturn have decided to put on quite an unusual show for the world to see! The two largest planets in our solar system will nearly overlap to form a “double planet,” an event that hasn’t been easily visible since the Middle Ages—almost 800 years ago. Today’s animated Doodle celebrates the Northern Hemisphere’s first day of winter as well as this rare double planet sighting–or “Great Conjunction”–which can be viewed from anywhere around the globe!"

How to watch the Great Conjunction?

For those who would like to see this phenomenon for themselves, here’s what to do: <Source: NASA>

• Find a spot with an unobstructed view of the sky, such as a field or park. Jupiter and Saturn are bright, so they can be seen even from most cities.

• An hour after sunset, look to the southwestern sky. Jupiter will look like a bright star and be easily visible. Saturn will be slightly fainter and will appear slightly above and to the left of Jupiter until December 21, when Jupiter will overtake it and they will reverse positions in the sky.

• The planets can be seen with the unaided eye, but if you have binoculars or a small telescope, you may be able to see Jupiter’s four large moons orbiting the giant planet.

You can even watch the live-telecast, in case it is too cold to go out

Happy watching!