Planetary kiss as Jupiter and Saturn align as Christmas star

The two largest planets in the solar system were so close on Monday they appeared as one. But in reality, they were hundreds of millions of kilometres apart.

The great conjunction with Jupiter and Saturn in the same frame. Picture: Aaron Francis

The two largest planets in the solar system were so close on Monday that they appeared as one … even though they were hundreds of millions of kilometres apart.

The great conjunction occurs when Jupiter and Saturn, the fifth and sixth planets from the sun respectively, pass each other.

While Jupiter and Saturn align once every 20 years, this year they are at their closest in 400 years.

It is also the first time in 800 years since the alignment occurred at night, making the passing visible to most people around the world with the unassisted naked eye, according to NASA.

While the entire passing lasts about two weeks, its peak culmination occurred about 9pm on Monday.

Astrophiles and photographers alike have taken to observation points over the past few days, trying their hand at capturing the moment.

One was The Australian’s photographer Aaron Francis, who landed his shot from a holiday home in Bright, Victoria, about 9pm on Sunday.

“When I lined them up in the camera, I could see the rings of Saturn, it’s biggest moon Titan, Jupiter and it’s Galilean moons,” he said.

Francis’s window of opportunity wasn’t the two hours he’d been told because of nearby mountains and a setting sun.

“It wasn’t quite the conjuncture of the planets but we had predicted overcast conditions for the following nights so I thought I’d have a go at it,” he said.

“I waited as long as I could to take the photos before the planets set below the setting sun on the horizon.”

“From the naked eye, they looked like binary stars, so close together they almost looked like one.”

The great conjunction has been nicknamed the Christmas star after the Star of Bethlehem.

The last “planetary kiss” happened in 1623 and the next won’t take place for another 60 years on March 15, 2080.