Google Doodle celebrates the winter solstice and the great conjuncture of Jupiter and Saturn

Winter Solstice Great Conjunction: Google showed the winter solstice great conjunction in the Northern Hemisphere in a doodle on Monday (December 21) in collaboration with NASA.

We’re also being treated to a rare and spectacular sight in the sky on Monday as the Northern Hemisphere marks the beginning of winter: the great conjunction. The great conjunction is the visual overlap of Saturn and Jupiter, the two biggest planets of our solar system, in the night sky. The planets will almost overlap to form a “double planet,” an event that, almost 800 years ago, has not been readily visible since the Middle Ages. The celestial phenomenon can be seen from anywhere in the world.

“Based on their orbits, within .1 degrees of each other (a fraction of the width of the full moon), Jupiter and Saturn will cross from our viewpoint on Earth, a once-in-a-lifetime rendezvous recreated in the Doodle artwork. But looks can be deceiving, as the two gas giants will actually remain about 450 million miles apart, a vast distance! “Said Google.