New Delhi: The ‘Great Conjunction’ Jupiter and Saturn that will take place on Monday, is being thought by many to be the ‘Christmas Star’. The Jupiter and Saturn appear to pass each other nearly once every 20 years but what is so extraordinary about Monday’s celestial extravaganza?

TOMORROW Jupiter and Saturn will be at their closest separation in the sky since 1623 at 0.1° apart. Here's an animation showing exactly how close that is relative to a familiar object, the Moon! (Moon ONLY added to illustrate the scale) #GreatConjunction2020 pic.twitter.com/2mvdl6KjmI

— Dr. James O'Donoghue (@physicsJ) December 20, 2020

According to NASA, “It’s been nearly 400 years since the planets passed this close to each other in the sky, and nearly 800 years since the alignment of Saturn and Jupiter occurred at night, as it will for 2020, allowing nearly everyone around the world to witness this ‘Great conjunction'”. The Jupiter and Saturn will be separated by just “0.1 degrees or about one-fifth the apparent width of the Moon”.