If the sky is clear in the early evening on the 2020 Winter Solstice, get outside after dark to observe the Great Conjunction of our solar system’s two largest planets: Jupiter and Saturn. See the conjunction in the southwestern sky and witness the “double planet” as the two align with only 0.1 degree separation, roughly the same thickness as a coin. A Great Conjunction having anywhere near to this overlap last occurred 800 years ago, on March 4, 1226. So this is a super rare astronomical event! It can be seen with your naked eyes, but binoculars or telescope will make your experience even more riveting. And with binoculars you can also see the four Galilean Moons of Jupiter–Europa, Io, Callisto, and Ganymede.They are wonderful to observe.
On each clear night over the past couple of months I’ve gone outside and marveled at the rapid “closure” of Jupiter on Saturn. The two planets are 350,000,000 miles apart, so Jupiter has been making swift gain on our more distant, ringed planet. Jupiter orbits the sun every 12 Earth years, while it takes Saturn 30 Earth years on its orbit. So Jupiter’s “distance” gain toward the coming Great Conjunction in the night sky is happening super quickly. It’s been fun to observe this rapidly developing conjuncture.
So plan to spend the early evening of the solstice getting sated with the view of our solar system’s two largest and brightest planets as they appear to merge in the sky. And while you are out for this super rare event, plan also to find this night cache! Look for illuminator tacks on trees, beginning at the listed coordinates where you will find two tacks. From this starting point, use your light to search around for the next reflector tack on another tree and then go to it. It's best to hold the light at approximately your eye level when searching for the next reflector. Continue in this fashion to locate the single tacks on other trees as they lead you to the cache location where you will find three reflective tacks. The actual cache is hanging on a branch between 4 and 5 feet up on the opposite side of the “triple” set of tacks. It might take a little searching to locate this camoed bison tube. So enjoy the supreme brightness of the double planet, this year called the "Christmas Star", and follow or precede that experience in the brightness of your hand-held light to find the cache. Take the kids for a memorable astronomical event and for the night geocache! Have fun!
Additional Waypoints
P093TRM - Parking and Start
N 40° 33.927 W 105° 03.180
Start here and look for double reflectors
The Great Conjunction
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