CalculationTime

Astronomy moment

Great Conjunction 2020

A Jupiter and Saturn conjunction near the December solstice, useful for testing slow outer-planet geometry and poster framing.

Epoch: . CalculationTime renders the same date as search-readable telemetry and as a preloaded Grand Orrery poster state.

Generated telemetry

Planet positions for Mon, 21 Dec 2020 18:20:00 GMT

VSOP87 / Astronomy Engine
BodyHelio AUGeo AURA hDec degConstellation
Mercury0.46221.444418.0932-25.0086Sagittarius
Venus0.72281.521416.3996-20.5298Ophiuchus
Mars1.4960.8081.41599.6152Pisces
Jupiter5.09935.925820.1864-20.5134Capricornus
Saturn9.98910.82720.1849-20.4168Capricornus
Uranus19.77319.16922.318313.4057Aries
Neptune29.927830.114523.3121-5.617Aquarius

Poster workflow

Use the event date as the shareable state, not a hidden local bookmark.

Frame Jupiter and Saturn on 21 December 2020 and print the epoch telemetry beside the orrery.

The orrery link carries the date, view and scale in the URL so the same configuration can be shared, cited, posted, inspected and printed without relying on browser localStorage.

Sources and further readingAstronomy EngineNASA Solar SystemNASA Eclipse Web Site