‘Christmas Star’ 2020: Jupiter and Saturn to merge in night sky on Monday

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.

“All three planets will be visible to the naked eye. We’ll have to hasten to see Jupiter and Saturn, because they will disappear two-and-a-half hours after sunset, though Mars will be visible until midnight,” Stavros Avgoloupis, a professor of observational astronomy at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, told the Athens-Macedonian News Agency on Saturday.

The “great conjunction” is often dubbed the “Christmas Star” due to the belief that it may account for Biblical references to the “Star of Bethlehem” during the birth of Christ.

“There are many different interpretations of this view, both from theologists studying the scriptures and from astronomers,” said Avgoloupis.