The New York Times - USA (2020-12-07)

A16 N THE NEW YORK TIMES, MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2020

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WT F S SM

TODAY

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Actual

Forecast range

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60 s

Color bands indicate water temperature.

White 24/10 More clouds than sun Green 24/13 More clouds than sun Adirondacks 25/9 More clouds than sun Berkshires 33/20 Clouds and periodic sun Catskills 32/18 Mostly cloudy

Poconos 34/23 Times of clouds and sun Southwest Pa. 33/23 Mostly cloudy

West Virginia 33/21 Mostly cloudy

Blue Ridge 38/24 Mostly cloudy

Today’s forecast

HH

H

HH

H

LLL

70s70s0s0s

80s 80

40s40s

202 20s 2 ss^3 30s^3 30ss

10 s

0s

<0<

<0 0

7 70sss

70 s

7 70s

8808 0s

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70s 70s0s

60 s

60 0sss

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50s 0

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20s20s20s 222

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40s 404000 0s

40s0s 0

30s 0

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30s

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30s30ss

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40s 4 40s 4

20s20s

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PierrePP

Bismarckkk Fargo

Minneapnappolis St. PaulSSSSS

Chicago

Milwaukeukeukeee

Inndianapolisna

Detroit

ClevelandPittsburghh

WashingtonWashiashi

PhiladelphiaPhi

New YorkN

Richchmmond NorfolkNNNNNNN RRaleighR gh CCharlotteCh

CoColuCombiab Atlanta

JacksonvilleJ

OrlandoOr Tampaa

MMiami Nassau

Birmmmmminghainghainghammm

MobileMo NewNew Orleans

Jackson

Baton Rougeo

Little Rockkk

Memphis

Nashville

Louuisvilleu

Charlestoeono

Caspeere Sioux Fallsou CheyenneChChe nee

DeDenverDe Coolooradoo SSprSpringspr

WinnipegWinWineg

Regina

Billings

HeHelenaHe

BoiseBoBo

SpokaneS

Vanancouveran

SeSeeatttttle

Reno

SaSan Franncisconio

Fresnsnosn

Los AngelesLos ALos A

SSSan DiegoSa

Honolulu HiloH

FFairFairbanksFair AnchoraAnchorageAnchoragAnchorageAnchoragec Juneauau

PhoenPhoPhooenixoen

Tucsonnn

LasLasLas Vegas

Salt Lake City

Albuquerqrquerq

StSanta FeSanta

Lubbock

El PasoPasPas Ft. Worth Dallas

Oklahoma Citytyy

San Antoniooo Hououston

Corpus ChristiC Montnterreynte

Eugenne

Portlanand

Albanybanban Buffalo HartfordHaHarHaaa

ToToronto

Ottawa

Montreal

Quebecbecbecc

Burllingtonlin n ManchesterMaM

BostonBBosB

PortlandPor

HalifaxH

Des Moinoinines OOOmaha

Topeekae

Wichita

Kansansnsas City St. Lououisoui

Springfielde

Winds are expected to turn
offshore from the Northern
Sierra to Southern
California through Tuesday.
Wind gusts in the moun-
tains, especially in and
around Los Angeles, will
generally be around 40 to
50 miles per hour. A long,
dry stretch of weather has
resulted in dry vegetation,
which will increase the
threat for wildfires in the
region.

Highlight: High Fire Risk in Southern California

San Diego

Los Angeles

Santa Barbara San Bernardino

HIGH FIRE RISK

CALIFORNIA

Metropolitan Almanac

In Central Park, for the 16 hours ended at 4 p.m. yesterday.

Reservoir levels (New York City water supply) Yesterday ............... 76% Est. normal ............. 82%

Temperature

20°

30°

40°

50°

60°

70° Recordhigh 71° (2001)

high 46°

Normal

low 35°

Normal

(1871)

low 11°

Record

35° 8 a.m.

2 p.m.

40°

SAT. YESTERDAY

4 p.m.

12 a.m.

6 a.m.

12 p.m.

4 p.m.

Avg. daily departure Avg. daily departure from normal from normal this m...................... +1.8°onth this year......................... +2.4°

Precipitation (in inches) Yesterday ............... 0. Record .................... 1.

Snow......................... 0. Since Oct. 1 .............. 0. For the last 30 days Actual ..................... 4. Normal .................... 4. For the last 365 days Actual ................... 47. Normal .................. 49. LAST 30 DAYS Air pressure High ......... 29.83 10 a.m. Low ............ 29.78 4 a.m.

Humidity High ............. 57% 2 a.m. Low .............. 42% 2 p.m.

Heating Degree Days An index of fuel consumption that tracks how far the day's mean temperature fell below 65 Yesterday................................................................... 2 7 So far this month...................................................... 128 So far this season (since July 1) .............................. 745 Normal to date for the season ................................. 970

Trends Temperature Precipitation Average Average Below Above Below Above Last 10 days 30 days 90 days 365 days Chart shows how recent temperature and precipitation trends compare with those of the last 30 years.

HL

TODAY’S HIGHS

FRONTS PRESSURE

COLD HIGH LOW MOSTLY SHOWERST-STORMS RAIN FLURRIES SNOW ICE CLOUDY

WARM STATIONARY COMPLEX COLD PRECIPITATION

<0 0s 10s 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s 80s 90s 100+

Weather patterns shown as expected at noon today, Eastern time.

Cities
High/low temperatures for the 16 hours ended at 4
p.m. yesterday, Eastern time, and precipitation (in inches)
for the 16 hours ended at 4 p.m. yesterday.
Expected conditions for today and tomorrow.

C ........................ Clouds
F ............................. Fog
H .......................... Haze
I............................... Ice
PC ............. Partly cloudy
R ........................... Rain
Sh ................... Showers

S .............................Sun Sn ....................... Snow SS .......... Snow showers T ............ Thunderstorms Tr ......................... Trace W ........................ Windy

............... Not available
Recreational Forecast

Sun, Moon and Planets

We a t h e r R e p o r t Meteorology by AccuWeather

Sun

Jupiter

Saturn

Moon

Mars

Venus

National Forecast

Boating

Last Quarter New First Quarter Full

Dec. 7 Dec. 14 Dec. 21 Dec. 29

Mountain and Ocean Temperatures

11:17 a.m. 10:29 p.m.

RISE 7:07 a.m. SET 4:28 p.m. NEXT R 7:08 a.m. R 10:01 a.m. S 7:32 p.m. R 10:06 a.m. S 7:40 p.m.

S 12:32 p.m. R 11:41 p.m. S 1:00 p.m. S 2:28 a.m. R 1:30 p.m. R 4:55 a.m. S 3:05 p.m.

United States Yesterday Today Tomorrow

N.Y.C. region Yesterday Today Tomorrow
40/ 30 PC 41/ 32 PC
Bridgeport 41/ 32 0 40/ 27 PC 38/ 26 PC
Caldwell 42/ 32 0 41/ 25 PC 40/ 24 PC
Danbury 39/ 28 0 38/ 22 PC 36/ 18 PC
Islip 42/ 31 0 40/ 26 PC 38/ 24 PC
Newark 43/ 33 0 42/ 28 PC 42/ 27 PC
Trenton 40/ 32 0 39/ 26 PC 41/ 23 PC
White Plains 40/ 30 0 38/ 26 PC 37/ 24 PC

Albany 32/ 22 0 31/ 22 C 31/ 20 PC
Albuquerque 55/ 28 0 57/ 31 S 56/ 29 S
Anchorage 17/ 16 0 30/ 26 Sn 33/ 24 Sn
Atlanta 59/ 43 0 50/ 30 PC 50/ 32 S
Atlantic City 48/ 30 0 45/ 30 PC 45/ 29 PC
Austin 67/ 38 0 70/ 36 S 75/ 39 S
Baltimore 45/ 29 0 42/ 29 PC 45/ 29 S
Baton Rouge 57/ 38 0.17 60/ 34 S 62/ 39 S
Birmingham 57/ 38 0.01 48/ 29 PC 52/ 32 S
Boise 38/ 23 0 40/ 23 S 43/ 24 S
Boston 39/ 26 0.14 38/ 27 PC 35/ 24 PC
Buffalo 33/ 26 0 32/ 25 SS 34/ 28 S
Burlington 33/ 24 0.01 30/ 23 C 30/ 20 PC
Casper 44/ 22 0 46/ 27 S 47/ 31 S
Charlotte 56/ 40 0 51/ 28 C 50/ 26 S
Chattanooga 57/ 37 0 44/ 28 C 50/ 28 S
Chicago 40/ 31 Tr 42/ 30 PC 44/ 34 PC
Cincinnati 40/ 29 0 38/ 27 C 42/ 30 S
Cleveland 35/ 29 0.02 35/ 30 SS 37/ 29 C
Colorado Springs 60/ 33 0 60/ 33 S 64/ 35 S
Columbus 37/ 27 0 36/ 25 C 40/ 29 PC
Concord, N.H. 35/ 20 0.34 34/ 20 PC 33/ 13 C
Dallas-Ft. Worth 60/ 37 0.21 63/ 39 S 68/ 40 S
Denver 58/ 30 0 58/ 31 S 63/ 32 S
Des Moines 41/ 26 0 42/ 25 PC 49/ 33 S
Detroit 37/ 26 0 38/ 26 PC 39/ 31 S
El Paso 61/ 30 0 64/ 32 PC 63/ 33 S
Fargo 43/ 21 0 41/ 25 S 44/ 31 PC
Hartford 39/ 22 0 39/ 25 PC 37/ 22 PC
Honolulu 85/ 72 0 85/ 73 PC 85/ 70 Sh
Houston 63/ 42 0.05 65/ 41 S 69/ 43 S
Indianapolis 37/ 28 0 41/ 26 PC 44/ 30 S
Jackson 59/ 36 0.03 54/ 31 PC 60/ 34 S
Jacksonville 64/ 49 0.03 64/ 36 PC 57/ 33 S
Kansas City 47/ 29 0 53/ 29 PC 56/ 36 PC
Key West 77/ 72 Tr 75/ 64 T 68/ 61 C
Las Vegas 62/ 47 0 67/ 42 PC 64/ 43 PC
Lexington 42/ 28 0 37/ 24 C 42/ 29 S

Little Rock 56/ 33 0 56/ 31 PC 61/ 33 S Los Angeles 72/ 49 0 69/ 50 PC 80/ 50 PC Louisville 42/ 31 0 43/ 30 C 46/ 32 S Memphis 52/ 35 0 49/ 33 PC 57/ 37 PC Miami 81/ 70 0 74/ 54 R 64/ 47 S Milwaukee 40/ 32 0.04 42/ 30 PC 43/ 34 PC Mpls.-St. Paul 39/ 27 0 39/ 25 PC 42/ 33 PC Nashville 52/ 29 0.06 44/ 29 C 48/ 31 S New Orleans 59/ 45 0.04 60/ 43 S 61/ 45 S Norfolk 50/ 38 0 47/ 34 R 46/ 33 PC Oklahoma City 56/ 30 0 63/ 31 S 63/ 35 S Omaha 41/ 26 0 51/ 25 S 55/ 34 S Orlando 71/ 55 0 66/ 43 PC 59/ 39 S Philadelphia 42/ 29 0 41/ 29 PC 42/ 28 PC Phoenix 72/ 45 0 79/ 51 PC 79/ 50 PC Pittsburgh 34/ 26 0.01 34/ 28 SS 36/ 27 PC Portland, Me. 35/ 22 0.29 34/ 23 PC 34/ 20 PC Portland, Ore. 51/ 39 0.23 49/ 40 PC 53/ 44 R Providence 39/ 23 0 40/ 25 PC 37/ 21 C Raleigh 54/ 40 0 47/ 29 R 48/ 25 S Reno 50/ 28 0 48/ 22 S 51/ 24 S Richmond 49/ 33 0 40/ 28 Sn 47/ 23 S Rochester 33/ 26 Tr 31/ 25 SS 33/ 26 PC Sacramento 64/ 48 0 71/ 40 W 66/ 35 S Salt Lake City 45/ 25 Tr 42/ 21 S 43/ 23 S San Antonio 67/ 40 0 70/ 41 S 75/ 43 S San Diego 69/ 47 0 68/ 55 C 76/ 52 PC San Francisco 60/ 48 0 68/ 47 W 65/ 45 S San Jose 63/ 42 0 69/ 42 W 69/ 42 S San Juan 81/ 73 0.02 85/ 72 PC 86/ 72 C Seattle 53/ 42 0.11 52/ 48 C 54/ 45 R Sioux Falls 44/ 25 0 47/ 26 S 51/ 33 PC Spokane 34/ 27 0 36/ 32 PC 43/ 34 C St. Louis 46/ 33 Tr 47/ 30 PC 49/ 36 PC St. Thomas 81/ 75 0.06 84/ 75 S 84/ 75 PC Syracuse 33/ 27 0.01 31/ 24 SS 33/ 28 C Tampa 71/ 58 0 67/ 46 PC 59/ 43 S Toledo 37/ 25 0 38/ 26 C 40/ 32 S Tucson 73/ 42 0 75/ 49 PC 74/ 46 PC Tulsa 54/ 31 0 62/ 33 PC 61/ 36 S Virginia Beach 52/ 37 0 49/ 34 R 49/ 32 PC Washington 46/ 33 0 42/ 32 PC 45/ 31 S Wichita 52/ 30 0 60/ 30 PC 60/ 32 S Wilmington, Del. 43/ 27 0 41/ 27 PC 42/ 26 PC Africa Yesterday Today Tomorrow

Asia/Pacific Yesterday Today Tomorrow

Algiers 59/ 45 0.04 65/ 55 S 61/ 47 Sh Cairo 73/ 55 0 82/ 60 W 74/ 55 PC Cape Town 79/ 61 0 79/ 61 PC 77/ 61 PC Dakar 82/ 75 0 82/ 74 PC 82/ 74 PC Johannesburg 72/ 53 0.09 78/ 56 PC 75/ 57 PC Nairobi 79/ 60 0.05 80/ 61 PC 79/ 60 PC Tunis 57/ 45 0.15 61/ 49 S 66/ 50 PC

Baghdad 66/ 51 0 67/ 43 PC 67/ 47 PC Bangkok 84/ 69 0 88/ 70 PC 88/ 70 PC Beijing 44/ 23 0 36/ 14 PC 38/ 22 PC Damascus 63/ 38 0 61/ 41 PC 64/ 46 PC Hong Kong 69/ 58 0 74/ 61 S 71/ 63 PC Jakarta 84/ 75 1.98 88/ 77 C 90/ 77 T Jerusalem 56/ 44 0 61/ 49 PC 65/ 44 S Karachi 90/ 61 0 90/ 59 PC 88/ 60 PC Manila 90/ 79 0.03 84/ 76 T 85/ 76 T Mumbai 93/ 69 0 93/ 74 PC 93/ 75 PC

South America Yesterday Today Tomorrow

North America Yesterday Today Tomorrow

Europe Yesterday Today Tomorrow

New Delhi 82/ 58 0 81/ 55 PC 81/ 57 PC Riyadh 73/ 54 0.06 64/ 44 PC 65/ 48 S Seoul 48/ 27 0 43/ 22 PC 38/ 22 PC Shanghai 57/ 43 0 55/ 45 C 53/ 46 PC Singapore 88/ 79 0 88/ 79 C 88/ 78 T Sydney 87/ 70 0 82/ 59 S 71/ 56 S Taipei City 68/ 66 0.08 73/ 66 R 71/ 68 R Tehran 43/ 36 1.04 41/ 33 Sh 45/ 34 PC Tokyo 56/ 45 0 58/ 46 S 60/ 46 S

Amsterdam 40/ 31 0.06 45/ 31 R 39/ 31 PC Athens 66/ 54 0.08 63/ 51 R 64/ 54 PC Berlin 52/ 38 0 50/ 35 C 46/ 36 PC Brussels 35/ 28 0.12 39/ 30 R 39/ 29 PC Budapest 55/ 43 0 44/ 39 R 45/ 34 PC Copenhagen 48/ 39 0.15 47/ 40 C 44/ 40 C Dublin 36/ 27 0 42/ 33 C 44/ 34 R Edinburgh 44/ 34 0.04 41/ 37 C 44/ 38 Sh Frankfurt 40/ 34 0.44 40/ 30 R 37/ 32 PC Geneva 43/ 32 0.03 39/ 31 PC 40/ 32 R Helsinki 40/ 37 0 34/ 27 S 31/ 26 S Istanbul 59/ 49 0 58/ 49 PC 58/ 45 S Kiev 30/ 21 0 23/ 17 S 23/ 19 S Lisbon 56/ 46 0.13 59/ 53 PC 58/ 50 Sh London 41/ 35 0.02 39/ 32 C 42/ 37 PC Madrid 47/ 32 0.02 53/ 40 Sh 50/ 31 PC Moscow 28/ 16 0 27/ 17 S 29/ 17 S Nice 52/ 41 0 54/ 44 PC 54/ 42 R Oslo 35/ 32 0.20 38/ 34 R 35/ 30 R Paris 45/ 37 0.02 42/ 33 C 41/ 32 PC Prague 54/ 41 0 45/ 33 C 43/ 36 R Rome 56/ 48 0.85 56/ 49 T 58/ 47 R St. Petersburg 39/ 33 Tr 36/ 24 S 32/ 23 S Stockholm 45/ 42 0.10 41/ 35 C 36/ 34 C Vienna 48/ 43 0.04 48/ 40 R 43/ 37 R Warsaw 42/ 37 0 38/ 27 PC 35/ 29 PC

Acapulco 87/ 73 0 88/ 74 T 90/ 75 S Bermuda 73/ 67 0.12 71/ 67 C 73/ 62 W Edmonton 38/ 14 0 39/ 30 C 38/ 20 PC Guadalajara 73/ 47 0 73/ 48 PC 74/ 48 C Havana 82/ 66 0 80/ 64 C 73/ 61 C Kingston 86/ 73 0 86/ 74 PC 86/ 75 PC Martinique 86/ 70 0.01 85/ 74 PC 86/ 73 PC Mexico City 75/ 49 0 70/ 50 PC 70/ 49 T Monterrey 71/ 34 0 72/ 39 PC 72/ 44 PC Montreal 32/ 25 Tr 29/ 22 PC 30/ 21 S Nassau 81/ 66 0 81/ 65 T 72/ 63 PC Panama City 88/ 73 0.07 87/ 74 T 86/ 74 T Quebec City 29/ 23 0.37 30/ 17 PC 28/ 12 S Santo Domingo 87/ 67 0 84/ 72 PC 84/ 71 PC Toronto 33/ 23 0 31/ 22 C 35/ 28 S Vancouver 49/ 40 Tr 48/ 45 R 50/ 41 R Winnipeg 33/ 19 0 34/ 24 S 39/ 28 C

Buenos Aires 72/ 59 0 76/ 65 S 79/ 68 PC Caracas 91/ 74 0.12 87/ 73 Sh 87/ 72 T Lima 72/ 66 0 73/ 67 C 74/ 66 C Quito 65/ 52 0 67/ 51 Sh 67/ 51 Sh Recife 84/ 77 0.04 85/ 78 PC 85/ 78 PC Rio de Janeiro 77/ 73 0.13 79/ 74 R 80/ 74 T Santiago 90/ 54 0 85/ 53 PC 88/ 55 PC

From Montauk Point to Sandy Hook, N.J., out to 20 nautical miles, including Long Island Sound and New York Harbor. Wind will be from the northwest at 10-15 knots. Waves will be 1 foot or less on New York Harbor and Long Island Sound, and 2-3 feet on the ocean. Visibility will generally be clear to the horizon.

Atlantic City .................. 12:02 a.m. ............ 12:08 p.m. Barnegat Inlet ............... 12:20 a.m. ............ 12:24 p.m. The Battery ................... 12:58 a.m. ............ 12:52 p.m. Beach Haven .................. 1:50 a.m. .............. 1:52 p.m. Bridgeport ...................... 4:01 a.m. .............. 4:17 p.m. City Island ....................... 3:37 a.m. .............. 3:53 p.m. Fire Island Lt. .................. 1:18 a.m. .............. 1:20 p.m. Montauk Point ................ 1:52 a.m. .............. 2:02 p.m. Northport ....................... 4:00 a.m. .............. 4:21 p.m. Port Washington ............. 3:45 a.m. .............. 4:07 p.m. Sandy Hook .................. 12:32 a.m. ............ 12:34 p.m. Shinnecock Inlet ........... 12:16 a.m. ............ 12:32 p.m. Stamford ........................ 3:54 a.m. .............. 4:14 p.m. Tarrytown ....................... 2:47 a.m. .............. 2:41 p.m. Willets Point .................... 3:39 a.m. .............. 3:54 p.m.

High Tides

New York City 40/ 35 0

Metropolitan Forecast

TODAY .........................Partly sunny, breezy High 40. It will be brisk and cold as wind blows cool air into the region. A breezy wind will bring temperatures that feel like they are in the 20s.

TONIGHT ................................Patchy clouds Low 30. Conditions will be chilly, but not as brisk overnight as winds subside. High pressure will bring a partly cloudy sky.

TOMORROW ..............................Partly sunny High 41. The weather will be cold and blustery through the afternoon as wind persists. High pressure will bring sunshine mixed with some clouds. WEDNESDAY .............................Partly sunny The afternoon will be seasonably cold, with high pressure bringing a mixture of sunshine and clouds. Winds will shift. Partly cloudy and milder overnight.

THURSDAY FRIDAY ....................................Mostly sunny Thursday will be milder and mostly sunny. High 52. Friday will also be mild, with clouds and some sunshine. High 52.

It will be quiet weather day for much of the United States today. The exception will be found largely across the Carolinas. A storm system will strengthen off the Carolina coast in the morning and bring rain to eastern North Carolina, as well as showers to much of South Carolina. Moisture inland will bring snow in the higher elevations of the southern Ap- palachians. Farther south, rain and a few heavy thunderstorms are forecast for southeastern Florida in the morning. Elsewhere, high pressure will keep dry, seasonable conditions in place. However, some of this high pressure will lead to an increase in wind speeds and an elevated wildfire risk across Southern California.

It will be cold and brisk for most of the region. The sky will be mostly cloudy to the south as a storm system passes through the Southeast, producing snow showers over the Blue Ridge Mountains and southern Alleghenies. Sunshine will break through in the north. Temperatures will range from the 20s to the 40s.

For months, Saturn and Jupiter
have appeared to be courting, as
the giant celestial bodies have
gradually drawn nearer in the
night sky.
Over the next two weeks, as
their orbits align more closely, the
planets will pull closer until they
appear to be just a tenth of a de-
gree apart — about the thickness
of a dime held at arm’s length, ac-
cording to NASA.
The encounter, known as a
great conjunction, happens about
every 20 years. But this one — ar-
riving on Dec. 21, the winter sol-
stice — is special, astronomers
said.
It will be the closest alignment
of Saturn and Jupiter, the largest
planets in our solar system, since

But that conjunction, just 14
years after Galileo built his first
telescope, was 13 degrees away
from the sun, making it almost im-
possible to view from Earth, said
Amy C. Oliver, a spokeswoman for
the Center for Astrophysics, Har-
vard & Smithsonian.
This one will be the closest visi-
ble encounter between the two gi-
ants since the Middle Ages, in
1226, Ms. Oliver said. The next
time the planets will be this close
is 2080, she said, making the event
a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle for

most adults. Across the United States, the best view of the two planets coming into near-alignment will be just after sunset, in the southwest- ern portion of the sky. “It’s a very elegant astronomical event to watch in the night sky,” said Renu Malhotra, a professor of planetary sciences at the University of Arizona. “It’s a very romantic event to see these planets approaching each other.” Although best appreciated with binoculars or a telescope, the encounter should be visible to the naked eye. Konstantin Batygin, a professor of planetary science at the Califor- nia Institute of Technology, said he had been watching Jupiter, his favorite planet, and Saturn draw closer to one another on nightly walks with his pit bull, Bagheera. “It’s the rare astronomical event where you can appreciate the motion of the planets around the sun without being some kind of astronomer,” Professor Batygin said. “You can still go outside close to Christmas and say, ‘Wow, those two planets sure are close to one another, and they aren’t usu- ally.’ It’s one of these rare times when the majesty of the solar system presents itself to the naked eye.” But such encounters were not

always viewed so lyrically. In an- cient times, people considered planetary alignments to be bad omens, portending calamity, Pro- fessor Malhotra said.

“There was reason to fear that the gods were conspiring when they got closer in the night sky,” she said. “It might have ominous meaning to people on Earth.”

The conjunction is the result of the orbital paths of Jupiter and Saturn coming into line, as viewed from Earth. Jupiter orbits the sun about every 12 years, and Saturn

about every 29 years. Although they will appear to be close together — resembling a bright ball or a tipped-over snow- man in the sky, Ms. Oliver said — the planets will not actually be that close. In fact, they will be more than 400 million miles apart, she said. “Jupiter and Saturn will appear as two wandering stars that are kind of right on top of one another,” Professor Batygin said. “If you wait long enough, it’s bound to happen, because their orbital paths intersect. But it doesn’t happen that often.” Some people are calling the conjunction a Christmas star because of its arrival around the holiday. Ms. Oliver said that on the days before and after Dec. 21, “as soon as it gets dark outside, everybody should go outside and take a look.” “For most adults, this is your one big opportunity to see this,” she said. “Really young kids might get another chance. For the rest of us, it’s now or never.”

Jupiter and Saturn Head for Their Closest Visible Alignment in Centuries

Saturn, left center, and Jupiter, right center, will appear to be just a tenth of a degree apart.

TED S. WARREN/ASSOCIATED PRESS

By MICHAEL LEVENSON

On the evening of

Dec. 21, cast your eyes

toward the southwest.

The New York Times - USA (2020-12-07)

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