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image credit & copyright: Damian Peach




it was time for their close-up

december 21, 2020, Jupiter and Saturn passed a tenth of a degree from each other in what is known a Great Conjunction

although the two planets pass each other on the sky every 20 years, this was the closest pass in nearly four centuries

taken early in day of the Great Conjunction, the featured multiple-exposure combination captures not only both giant planets in a single frame, but also Jupiter's four largest moons (left to right) Callisto, Ganymede, Io, and Europa -- and Saturn's largest moon Titan

if you look very closely, the clear Chilescope image even captures Jupiter's Great Red Spot



annotated photo: Click here to enlarge














































in apod.nasa.gov/apod