On December 21, 2020 we can witness the “Christmas Star” or “Star of Bethlehem” ourselves when it lights up the sky. This has not been seen in nearly 800 years!

This is thanks to the upcoming winter solstice when Jupiter and Saturn line up to create the star.

These two planets have not been looked this close together since the Middle Ages.

“Alignments between these two planets are rather rare, occurring once every 20 years or so, but this conjunction is exceptionally rare because of how close the planets will appear to be to one another,” Patrick Hartigan, an astronomer at Rice University, told Forbes.

“You’d have to go all the way back to just before dawn on March 4, 1226, to see a closer alignment between these objects visible in the night sky,” Hartigan said.

If you’re a stargazer in the northern hemisphere, you should turn your head, along with your telescope, to the southwest portion of the sky 45 minutes or so after sunset on December 21 to see both planets align.

Additionally, other sightings can be seen throughout the week.

The “Star of Bethlehem” has its origins in the opening verses of the Gospel of Matthew:

“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod, the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him” (Matthew 2:1-2).

For Christians, the star symbolizes Jesus Christ, who is also referred to as “the bright and morning star.”

We will not see another star-sighting quite like this until 2080!