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A Great Conjunction is a conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Saturn. The last Great Conjunction took place on May 31, 2000, while the next one will be in late December of 2020. Great Conjunctions take place regularly, every 18-20 years, as a result of the combined ~12-year orbital period of Jupiter around the Sun, and Saturn's ~30-year orbital period.
When a Great Conjunction occurs with both planets at or near opposition to the Sun, there may be two or even three separate conjunctions before Jupiter finally edges away from Saturn. The 2000 event, however, fell within mere weeks after both had passed conjunction with the Sun, and it was very difficult to observe without visual aid because the two planets rose only 30-45 minutes before sunrise, depending upon the location of the observer.
[edit] Great Conjunctions in Right ascension between 1800 and 2100
| Date |
Time UTC |
Planet |
Angle distance |
Planet |
Elongation to sun |
| July 21st, 1802 |
03:22:00 |
Jupiter |
42' south of |
Saturn |
37,9° East |
| June 25th, 1821 |
00:05:09 |
Jupiter |
1°15' north of |
Saturn |
67,5° West |
| November 22nd, 1821 |
23:49:55 |
Jupiter |
1°20' north of |
Saturn |
140,2° East |
| December 23rd, 1821 |
09:28:49 |
Jupiter |
1°22' north of |
Saturn |
108,5° East |
| January 25th, 1842 |
22:22:31 |
Jupiter |
32' south of |
Saturn |
26,8° West |
| October 25th, 1861 |
15:11:20 |
Jupiter |
52' south of |
Saturn |
43,1° West |
| April 22nd, 1881 |
11:58:20 |
Jupiter |
1°18' north of |
Saturn |
1,0° East |
| November 28th, 1901 |
06:10:38 |
Jupiter |
27' south of |
Saturn |
38,6° East |
| September 14th, 1921 |
16:22:08 |
Jupiter |
1°02' south of |
Saturn |
6,2° East |
| August 15th, 1940 |
13:18:42 |
Jupiter |
1°15' north of |
Saturn |
97,5° West |
| October 11th, 1940 |
23:17:26 |
Jupiter |
1°17' north of |
Saturn |
155,0° West |
| February 20th, 1941 |
19:14:02 |
Jupiter |
1°21' north of |
Saturn |
67,7° East |
| February 18th, 1961 |
14:42:37 |
Jupiter |
14' south of |
Saturn |
34,6° West |
| January 14th, 1981 |
07:58:37 |
Jupiter |
1°09' south of |
Saturn |
103,9° West |
| February 19th, 1981 |
07:12:10 |
Jupiter |
1°09' south of |
Saturn |
141,2° West |
| July 30th, 1981 |
21:32:22 |
Jupiter |
1°12' south of |
Saturn |
57,9° East |
| May 31st, 2000 |
10:13:27 |
Jupiter |
1°11' north of |
Saturn |
16,9° West |
| December 21st, 2020 |
13:48:52 |
Jupiter |
6' south of |
Saturn |
30,3° East |
| November 5th, 2040 |
13:19:46 |
Jupiter |
1°14' south of |
Saturn |
24,8° West |
| April 10th, 2060 |
09:01:25 |
Jupiter |
1°09' north of |
Saturn |
39,8° East |
| March 15th, 2080 |
08:29:24 |
Jupiter |
6' north of |
Saturn |
43,8° West |
| September 24th, 2100 |
01:40:38 |
Jupiter |
1°18' south of |
Saturn |
25,1° East |
[edit] Great Conjunctions in ecliptical longitude between 1800 and 2100
| Date |
Time UTC |
Planet |
Angle distance |
Planet |
Elongation to sun |
| July 17th, 1802 |
22:57:00 |
Jupiter |
39' south of |
Saturn |
40,6° East |
| June 19th, 1821 |
16:56:57 |
Jupiter |
1°10' north of |
Saturn |
63,3° West |
| January 26th, 1842 |
06:16:53 |
Jupiter |
32' south of |
Saturn |
27,1° West |
| October 21st, 1861 |
12:27:02 |
Jupiter |
48' south of |
Saturn |
39,7° West |
| April 18th, 1881 |
13:35:59 |
Jupiter |
1°13' north of |
Saturn |
3,1° East |
| November 28th, 1901 |
16:37:33 |
Jupiter |
26' south of |
Saturn |
38,2° East |
| September 10th, 1921 |
04:13:03 |
Jupiter |
57' south of |
Saturn |
9,7° East |
| August 8th, 1940 |
01:13:20 |
Jupiter |
1°11' north of |
Saturn |
90,9° West |
| October 20th, 1940 |
04:42:14 |
Jupiter |
1°14' north of |
Saturn |
164,0° West |
| February 15th, 1941 |
06:36:25 |
Jupiter |
1°17' north of |
Saturn |
72,9° East |
| February 19th, 1961 |
00:07:18 |
Jupiter |
14' south of |
Saturn |
34,9° West |
| December 31st, 1980 |
21:17:24 |
Jupiter |
1°03' south of |
Saturn |
90,9° West |
| March 4th, 1981 |
19:14:36 |
Jupiter |
1°03' south of |
Saturn |
155,9° West |
| July 24th, 1981 |
04:13:35 |
Jupiter |
1°06' south of |
Saturn |
63,8° East |
| May 28th, 2000 |
15:56:27 |
Jupiter |
1°09' north of |
Saturn |
14,9° West |
| December 21st, 2020 |
18:37:31 |
Jupiter |
6' south of |
Saturn |
30,1° East |
| October 31st, 2040 |
12:02:47 |
Jupiter |
1°08' south of |
Saturn |
20,8° West |
| April 7th, 2060 |
22:36:24 |
Jupiter |
1°07' north of |
Saturn |
41,9° East |
| March 15th, 2080 |
01:49:55 |
Jupiter |
6' north of |
Saturn |
43,5° West |
| September 18th, 2100 |
22:50:40 |
Jupiter |
1°13' south of |
Saturn |
29,4° East |
[edit] See also
