On December 21, 2020, Jupiter and Saturn will appear the closest to one another in hundreds of years and apparently, it'll give some people superpowers.
Or... at least that's what Twitter thinks.
The planets will come together in a 'great conjunction' which happens approximately every 20 years. The last one happened in May 2000, but this year is... special, because it's the closest the planets have appeared together since 1623.
Watch: The star signs in a time of crisis. Like, maybe all of 2020. Post continues below video.
As NASA puts it: "On the 21st, they will appear so close that a pinkie finger at arm's length will easily cover both planets in the sky."
Sounds cool. But what does it... mean? That depends who you ask.
The conspiracies.
According to a range of people, Jupiter and Saturn passing this close together in the sky means the world is ending, minority groups are going to gain superpowers (we're into that) and Jesus Christ is coming down from heaven.
Okay, it should go without saying that these are... not verified facts.
Firstly, some bad news: Christian evangelist Pastor Paul Begley has predicted that the world will end on December 21.
He said the great conjunction coupled with a Mayan calendar tell him this is when Jesus Christ will return. It's also his birthday, so a huge day for Mr Begley.
He's also uploaded videos, almost daily, about the apocalypse, aliens and 'deep state'. Titles of videos include 'Cannibal sandwich & Antartica (sic) earthquakes' so, uh, take from this what you will.
In better news, another conspiracy surrounding this great conjunction is that it is the day Black people gain superpowers.
It's an idea stemmed from one rogue tweet, but it's become a great Twitter meme.
She said Jupiter and Saturn's 'kiss' "is a trigger for significant political, cultural and social transformations".
"These changes will have distinct Aquarian undertones. For starters, the sign of the Water-Bearer is highly intellectual. And we can expect major advancements in the areas of science, medicine and technology."
Um, yes please. We could do with that right about now.
"Religion and personal freedoms will also be revamped," she said. "Community, how we interact and our social conscience is about to radically change."
The science.
Okay, so astronomers are pretty excited about this mostly due to its rarity. Obviously, they don't believe any of the above (not even the superpowers thing).
'Great conjunctions' occur approximately every 20 years when Jupiter "overtakes" Saturn in its orbit.
The great conjunction of 2020 will be the closest since 1623 and the closest one since 1226 that will actually be observable from Earth.
If you're keen to see the conjunction, you'll be able to with the naked eye, as long as you have a good spot facing west.
Per Perth Observatory: "To see the conjunction no matter where you are in the world, you will need to go out in the early evening and if you're in the Southern Hemisphere, you will need to look low in the West and Jupiter will be on the left and Saturn will be on the right at about the 4 o'clock position from Jupiter."
Astronomy.com said it's the best conjunction of our lives - just another once-in-a-lifetime event to enjoy in 2020.
"The Great Conjunction of February 1961 was the nearest runner-up to this month's event, but the pair was lower and deeper in glare," astronomer Bob Berman wrote. "Their Great Conjunction of December 1980 didn't bring these planets as close together; this was also the case during the May 2000 Great Conjunction. The next one in October 2040 will not be very good at all, with the planets farther apart and also in glare. And in October 2060, the planets again won't be too close together."
2060... Jeez. We're just trying to make it through the remaining 10 days of this year.
Feature image: Getty.
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