A Special Winter Solstice

(WSJ photo by Chris McGrath)

In this remarkable year Monday will not only be the winter solstice but also the day of a rare celestial event: [bold added]

Jupiter and Saturn will appear to nearly touch in the night sky on the winter solstice this Monday, in a rare alignment that has happened only twice since the Middle Ages...

The two worlds will appear so close on Dec. 21 that they will resemble a double planet, separated by a distance equal to only one-fifth the diameter of the full Moon—about a dime’s thickness—as seen from Earth, astronomers say. They will be visible just above the western horizon during the hour after sunset almost world-wide in the days before and after they make their closest approach on the solstice.

The science-minded may well dismiss the rare alignment as nothing more than a specific view of two planets from the perspective of Earth, signifying nothing.

Still, the perspective of this planet is the only one we have, and tomorrow the view happens to be special. We'll be gazing upward, just for a while.