Search giant Google is famous for its quirky, colourful doodles commemorating various important occasions – be it major festivals or birth or death anniversaries of famous personalities. This time, however, the search giant is commemorating an astronomical event – the Great Conjunction of planets Jupiter and Saturn along with the inter Solstice.
Winter Solstice is the shortest day and the longest night of the year — a phenomena that occurs when one of the Earth’s poles has its maximum tilt away from the Sun.
The word “solstice” originated from the Latin solstitium meaning “sun stands still”. In the Northern Hemisphere, Winter Solstice takes place between December 19 and 23. This year it is on December 21.
After Winter Solstice, days start becoming longer and nights shorter for people in the Northern Hemisphere. The reverse phenomena takes place for people in the Southern Hemisphere. However, in addition to the Winter Solstice, another event that the doodle celebrates is the The Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn.
On Monday evening, Jupiter and Saturn will be in a rare planetary alignment, appearing closer together in the evening sky in nearly 800 years. They won’t appear this close until 2080.
The animated Google Doodle exhibits Great Conjunction, wherein the Saturn and Jupiter meet up for a quick high five, and the Winter Solstice as the literally “snow capped” Earth watching the other two planets.
The celestial show is set to take place after nearly 400 years “since the planets passed this close to each other in the sky, and nearly 800 years since the alignment of Saturn and Jupiter occurred at night,” says the NASA.
Source: The Economic Times, Youtube