Conjunction

The space agency is waiting out a phenomenon known as a solar conjunction, in which Earth and Mars are on opposite sides of the sun

Skygazers all around the world enjoyed the view of a lifetime on Dec. 21 night as two gas giants appeared very close together in the night sky. 

"Skywatchers are enjoying a once-in-a-lifetime look at a close alignment of Jupiter and Saturn!" NASA said on Twitter.

Called the great conjunction, the rare sight occurred at about 18:20 UTC, according to timeanddate.com.

On 21 December 2020, the planets aligned, appearing closer than they have since the middle ages, in what is being called a 'Christmas kiss'

Today at 12.02 pm the astronomical winter arrives and the winter solstice. With the winter solstice comes the longest night in the Northern Hemisphere and the shortest day in the southern part of the world.

Shortly after 6 pm, it will be possible to observe the conjunction of the two largest planets in the solar system, Jupiter and Saturn.

The planets of Jupiter and Saturn will be coming together in a so-called "great conjunction" Monday, appearing to the naked eye like a single, bright star, a rare phenomenon that is expected to be even more impressive thanks to the proximity of Mars.

In a once in 20 years occurrence, Jupiter and Saturn will appear very close together in the night sky on Dec. 21.

The two gas giants will actually be hundreds of millions of miles apart but will appear exceptionally close, just a tenth of a degree apart or one-fifth of a full moon's diameter, according to Live Science.