Conjunctions of Jupiter and Saturn

Details Conjunctions of Jupiter and Saturn Conjunctions of Jupiter and Saturn

Aug 2000

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2000jrasc..94..174e&link_type=abstract

Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Vol. 94, p.174

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

1

Scientific paper

This year's Jupiter-Saturn conjunction is an astronomical event that has been noted in yearbooks, even though it occurred too close to the Sun to be readily visible. Astronomical conjunctions are often loosely defined. Four questions need to be answered: Which two astronomical bodies are involved? What co-ordinate system is used to define the conjunction? From what astronomical body is the event observed? Is the event described apparent or real? Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions are among the most impressive such events, occurring about every 20 years and involving the two outermost visible planets. The timing of apparent retrograde motion of the two planets can also produce an apparent triple conjunction, as happened in 1980-81. Triple conjunctions occur at irregular multiples of the conjunction interval. Occasionally a close grouping of Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars is also referred to as a triple conjunction. Successive Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions, slightly more than 240 deg apart, develop an interesting pattern as they step around the ecliptic, a rotating triangle with legs about 120 deg apart. In relation to the fixed stars, it takes about 854 or 913 years for the event to return to a point near the start of the sequence. Some scholars have given it as 960 years. Relative to a precessing co-ordinate system, it takes about 800 (794) years. Medieval scholars in Europe and the Near East were impressed by the above conjunction sequence, and tried to relate it to major events in world history. The earliest known attempts come from 8th century Baghdad, but their explanation may have originated in Iran (3rd to 7th centuries). It persisted in Europe into the 17th century.

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