12/07/2020 – Ephemeris – Looking forward to the best of winter: Orion
This is Ephemeris for Monday, December 7th. Today the Sun will be up for 8 hours and 55 minutes, setting at 5:02, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:07. The Moon, at last quarter today, will rise at 12:25 tomorrow morning.
Orion, the central constellation of the winter evening sky will be completely risen by 9 this evening. Then it can be seen low in the east-southeast it’s upright rectangle of stars tilted to the left. The topmost star to the left in this rectangle is the famous red giant star Betelgeuse, which is reportedly dimming again. It’s in Orion’s shoulder. In his other shoulder is Bellatrix, a name known to Harry Potter fans. In his knees are Rigel, a blue-white giant star and Saiph. In the center of the rectangle are three stars in a straight line, now almost vertically arranged, Orion’s belt. And below his belt what seem to be three more stars, his sword. In the center of the sword stars can be found, with binoculars or telescope, Orion’s most famous feature, the Great Orion Nebula.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Orion early December finder animation for 9 pm December 7th. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.
Orion’s named stars including the belt stars. Cursa, though named belongs to the neighboring constellation Eridanus the river. Created using Stellarium.
12/04/2020 – Ephemeris Interuptus part 2 – We are on! (Update)
It’s hell to wake up in a hospital on your 79th birthday when you are feeling fine. I’m still being poked and prodded. I’m pretty sure that Wednesday’s problem was the Ghost of Stroke Past. Getting out of here today in time is the goal now. I’m sincerely sorry if anyone will be disappointed if I can’t give the talk.
Follow yesterday’s instructions to connect if I can get them up.
Thanks, and keep looking up!
Update 12/04/2020 2:19 pm
I have been released from the hospital. We are back on for the “In Search of the Star of Bethlehem”. Go to http://www.gtastro.org before 8 pm to join the meeting. Note the society will be holding a board meeting from 7 p.m. before the main meeting. Anyone is invited to listen in if they want. We have no state secrets.
12/03/2020 – Ephemeris Interruptus – I’m in the hospital for tests
Yesterday I developed some symptoms of the stroke I had last January and my daughter took me to the ER where I had a CT scan. I’m waiting on a early am MRI. I should be home later today. I hope to be finishing up my Zoom program In Search of the Star of Bethlehem. If you’re interested go to http://www.gtastro.org Friday. The program will start ar 8 pm EST, though you can join earlier with the GTAS business meeting in progress. I might get the 12/03 post up later in the day.
The audio Ephemeris programs will run on Interlochen Public Radio through Monday regardless of my health issues. They’re already in the can, so to speak.
12/02/2020 – Ephemeris – A look at the naked-eye planets for this week
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, December 2nd. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 1 minute, setting at 5:03, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:02. The Moon, 2 days past full, will rise at 6:51 this evening.
Let’s look for the naked-eye planets for this week. Jupiter and Saturn are both low in the southwestern sky from 7 to 8 pm. Jupiter is the very bright one. Above and left it by 2 degrees or 4 moon widths will be dimmer Saturn. They are slowly closing, so they will cross paths on the evening of December 21st and be seen in the same telescope field that evening. Jupiter will set first tonight at 8:20 with Saturn following at 8:32. Quite high in the southeast at that hour will be Mars, still in Pisces. Mars’ distance is increasing to 60.2 million miles (97.0 million km) away. Mars will set at 3:27 tomorrow morning. Brilliant Venus will rise at 5:40 am in the east-southeast as it retreats slowly towards the Sun, but actually it’s heading around behind the Sun.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The evening planets with the Mon rising at 7 pm tonight December 2, 2020. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
The Moon as it might be seen tonight at 9 pm, December 2, 2020. Created using Stellarium.
The planets as seen in a telescope (north up) with the same magnification for the night of November 25/26, 2020. Times of the display are: Jupiter, Saturn and Mars, 7 pm; Venus, 6:30 am. Apparent diameters: Jupiter, 34.28″; Saturn, 15.63″, rings, 36.41″; Mars, 14.27″; and Venus, 11.57″. Mars also displays an enlargement showing surface detail. Mars was closest to the Earth this go-a-round on October 6. The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree.) Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
Planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise of a single night starting with sunset on the right on December 2, 2020. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 3rd. I’m afraid that the labels for Jupiter and Saturn will overlap, since the planets are getting very close. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
12/01/2020 – Ephemeris – Previewing December skies
This is Ephemeris for Tuesday, December 1st. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 2 minutes, setting at 5:03, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:01. The Moon, 1 day past full, will rise at 6:02 this evening.
Let’s look at December skies. We are now in the holiday season and about to celebrate the southernmost travel of the Sun in the sky and its return northward. So there is not much change in sunrise and sunset times. The Sun will stop its travel south, the winter solstice, on the 21st at 5:02 am. It will make that day the shortest day in terms of daylight hours. However, the earliest sunset will occur on the 9th. The Geminid meteor shower will reach its peak on the evening of the 13th, near new moon. Also in the evening on the 21st Jupiter and Saturn will be in conjunction and will be easily visible in the same binocular or low power telescope field. This month starts out with a surprisingly active Sun at the start of a new sunspot cycle.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
December Evening Star Chart
Star Chart for December 2020 (7 p.m. EST December 15, 2019). Click on image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program. Click on image to enlarge.
Credit my LookingUp program.
The planets and stars are plotted for the 15th at 7 pm EST (two hours earlier this year to include Jupiter and Saturn) in the evening and 6 a.m. for the morning chart. These are the chart times. Note that Traverse City is located approximately 45 minutes behind our time meridian, West 75° longitude. (An hour 45 minutes behind our daylight saving time meridian during EDT).
December Morning Star Chart
Star Chart for December mornings 2020 (6 a.m. EST December 15, 2020). Click on image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program. Credit my LookingUp program.
For a list of constellation names to go with the abbreviations click here.
- Pointer stars at the front of the bowl of the Big Dipper point to Polaris the North Star.
- The leaky bowl of the Big Dipper drips on Leo.
- Follow the arc of the handle of the Big Dipper to the star Arcturus, then
- Follow the spike to Spica.
- The Summer Triangle is in red.
- GemR on the star charts is the radiant of the Geminid meteor shower which peaks on the evening of the 13th.
Twilight Limits, Nautical and Astronomical
| EST | |||||||
| Morning twilight | Evening twilight | Dark night | Moon | ||||
| Date | Astro. | Nautical | Nautical | Astro. | Start | End | Illum. |
| 2020-12-01 | 6h21m | 6h56m | 18h15m | 18h51m | – | – | 0.99 |
| 2020-12-02 | 6h22m | 6h57m | 18h15m | 18h50m | 18h50m | 18h51m | 0.97 |
| 2020-12-03 | 6h23m | 6h58m | 18h15m | 18h50m | 18h50m | 19h48m | 0.92 |
| 2020-12-04 | 6h23m | 6h59m | 18h15m | 18h50m | 18h50m | 20h52m | 0.85 |
| 2020-12-05 | 6h24m | 7h00m | 18h15m | 18h50m | 18h50m | 22h00m | 0.77 |
| 2020-12-06 | 6h25m | 7h01m | 18h15m | 18h50m | 18h50m | 23h12m | 0.67 |
| 2020-12-07 | 6h26m | 7h01m | 18h15m | 18h50m | 18h50m | – | 0.56 |
| 2020-12-08 | 6h27m | 7h02m | 18h15m | 18h50m | 18h50m | 0h25m | 0.45 |
| 2020-12-09 | 6h28m | 7h03m | 18h15m | 18h50m | 18h50m | 1h39m | 0.33 |
| 2020-12-10 | 6h29m | 7h04m | 18h15m | 18h50m | 18h50m | 2h55m | 0.22 |
| 2020-12-11 | 6h29m | 7h05m | 18h15m | 18h50m | 18h50m | 4h13m | 0.13 |
| 2020-12-12 | 6h30m | 7h05m | 18h15m | 18h51m | 18h51m | 5h33m | 0.06 |
| 2020-12-13 | 6h31m | 7h06m | 18h15m | 18h51m | 18h51m | 6h31m | 0.01 |
| 2020-12-14 | 6h31m | 7h07m | 18h16m | 18h51m | 18h51m | 6h31m | 0 |
| 2020-12-15 | 6h32m | 7h08m | 18h16m | 18h51m | 18h51m | 6h32m | 0.02 |
| 2020-12-16 | 6h33m | 7h08m | 18h16m | 18h52m | 19h09m | 6h33m | 0.06 |
| 2020-12-17 | 6h29m | 7h05m | 18h13m | 18h48m | 20h19m | 6h29m | 0.13 |
| 2020-12-18 | 6h30m | 7h06m | 18h13m | 18h49m | 21h29m | 6h30m | 0.21 |
| 2020-12-19 | 6h31m | 7h06m | 18h14m | 18h49m | 22h37m | 6h31m | 0.3 |
| 2020-12-20 | 6h31m | 7h07m | 18h14m | 18h49m | 23h42m | 6h31m | 0.4 |
| 2020-12-21 | 6h32m | 7h07m | 18h14m | 18h50m | – | 6h32m | 0.5 |
| 2020-12-22 | 6h32m | 7h08m | 18h15m | 18h51m | 0h46m | 6h32m | 0.6 |
| 2020-12-23 | 6h33m | 7h08m | 18h16m | 18h51m | 1h47m | 6h33m | 0.69 |
| 2020-12-24 | 6h33m | 7h08m | 18h16m | 18h52m | 2h49m | 6h33m | 0.78 |
| 2020-12-25 | 6h33m | 7h09m | 18h17m | 18h52m | 3h51m | 6h33m | 0.85 |
| 2020-12-26 | 6h34m | 7h09m | 18h17m | 18h53m | 4h54m | 6h34m | 0.91 |
| 2020-12-27 | 6h34m | 7h09m | 18h18m | 18h54m | 5h57m | 6h34m | 0.96 |
| 2020-12-28 | 6h34m | 7h10m | 18h19m | 18h54m | – | – | 0.99 |
| 2020-12-29 | 6h35m | 7h10m | 18h20m | 18h55m | – | – | 0.99 |
| 2020-12-30 | 6h35m | 7h10m | 18h20m | 18h56m | – | – | 1 |
| 2020-12-31 | 6h35m | 7h10m | 18h21m | 18h56m | – | – | 0.99 |
Twilight calendar was generated using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
See my blog post: Twilight Zone for the definitions of the different periods of twilight here: https://bobmoler.wordpress.com/2018/09/27/.
NASA Calendar of Planetary Events
Date Time Event
Dec 1 Tu Venus: 27.5° W
1 Tu 02:46 am Moon Ascending Node
2 We 08:22 pm Moon North Dec.: 24.9° N
4 Fr 08:10 pm Moon-Beehive: 2.5° S
7 Mo 07:37 pm Last Quarter
12 Sa 03:40 pm Moon-Venus: 0.8° S
12 Sa 03:42 pm Moon Perigee: 361800 km
13 Su 07:50 pm Geminid Meteor Shower: ZHR = 120
14 Mo 06:03 am Moon Descending Node
14 Mo 11:15 am Total Solar Eclipse
(Pacific, S America, Atlantic)
14 Mo 11:17 am New Moon
15 Tu 05:23 pm Moon South Dec.: 24.9° S
16 We 11:28 pm Moon-Jupiter: 3° N
17 Th 12:25 am Moon-Saturn: 3.1° N
19 Sa 09:56 pm Mercury Superior Solar Conjunction
21 Mo 05:02 am Winter Solstice
21 Mo 06:41 pm First Quarter
22 Tu 04:00 am Ursid Meteor Shower: ZHR = 10
22 Tu 04:35 am Jupiter-Saturn: 0.1° N
23 We 09:48 am Venus-Antares: 5.6° N
24 Th 11:32 am Moon Apogee: 405000 km
28 Mo 10:03 am Moon Ascending Node
29 Tu 10:28 pm Full Moon
30 We 02:53 am Moon North Dec.: 24.9° N
All event times are given for UTC-5 Eastern Standard Time.
Sky Events Calendar by Fred Espenak and Sumit Dutta (NASA’s GSFC),
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SKYCAL/SKYCAL.html.
If you go to the above site you can print out a list like the above for the entire year or calendar pages for your time zone.
Sun and Moon Rising and Setting Events
LU Ephemeris of Sky Events for Interlochen/TC December, 2020 Local time zone: EST +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | DATE | SUN SUN DAYLIGHT| TWILIGHT* |MOON RISE OR ILLUM | | | RISE SET HOURS | END START |PHASE SET** TIME FRACTN| +=======================================================================+ |Tue 1| 08:00a 05:03p 09:02 | 06:12p 06:51a | Rise 06:02p 98%| |Wed 2| 08:01a 05:03p 09:01 | 06:12p 06:52a | Rise 06:51p 94%| |Thu 3| 08:02a 05:02p 09:00 | 06:12p 06:53a | Rise 07:48p 88%| |Fri 4| 08:03a 05:02p 08:58 | 06:12p 06:53a | Rise 08:52p 80%| |Sat 5| 08:04a 05:02p 08:57 | 06:12p 06:54a | Rise 10:00p 71%| +------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+ |Sun 6| 08:05a 05:02p 08:56 | 06:12p 06:55a | Rise 11:12p 61%| |Mon 7| 08:06a 05:02p 08:55 | 06:12p 06:56a |L Qtr Rise 12:25a 50%| |Tue 8| 08:07a 05:02p 08:54 | 06:12p 06:57a | Rise 01:39a 39%| |Wed 9| 08:08a 05:02p 08:53 | 06:12p 06:58a | Rise 02:55a 28%| |Thu 10| 08:09a 05:02p 08:52 | 06:12p 06:59a | Rise 04:13a 18%| |Fri 11| 08:10a 05:02p 08:51 | 06:12p 07:00a | Rise 05:33a 10%| |Sat 12| 08:11a 05:02p 08:51 | 06:12p 07:00a | Rise 06:53a 4%| +------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+ |Sun 13| 08:12a 05:02p 08:50 | 06:13p 07:01a | Rise 08:11a 1%| |Mon 14| 08:12a 05:02p 08:49 | 06:13p 07:02a |New Set 05:06p 0%| |Tue 15| 08:13a 05:02p 08:49 | 06:13p 07:02a | Set 06:03p 2%| |Wed 16| 08:14a 05:03p 08:48 | 06:13p 07:03a | Set 07:09p 7%| |Thu 17| 08:14a 05:03p 08:48 | 06:14p 07:04a | Set 08:18p 14%| |Fri 18| 08:15a 05:03p 08:48 | 06:14p 07:04a | Set 09:29p 22%| |Sat 19| 08:16a 05:04p 08:48 | 06:15p 07:05a | Set 10:37p 31%| +------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+ |Sun 20| 08:16a 05:04p 08:48 | 06:15p 07:05a | Set 11:42p 40%| |Mon 21| 08:17a 05:05p 08:48 | 06:16p 07:06a |F Qtr Set 12:45a 50%| |Tue 22| 08:17a 05:05p 08:48 | 06:16p 07:06a | Set 01:47a 60%| |Wed 23| 08:18a 05:06p 08:48 | 06:17p 07:07a | Set 02:49a 69%| |Thu 24| 08:18a 05:07p 08:48 | 06:17p 07:07a | Set 03:50a 77%| |Fri 25| 08:18a 05:07p 08:48 | 06:18p 07:08a | Set 04:53a 84%| |Sat 26| 08:19a 05:08p 08:49 | 06:19p 07:08a | Set 05:57a 91%| +------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+ |Sun 27| 08:19a 05:09p 08:49 | 06:19p 07:08a | Set 07:00a 96%| |Mon 28| 08:19a 05:09p 08:50 | 06:20p 07:09a | Set 08:01a 99%| |Tue 29| 08:19a 05:10p 08:50 | 06:21p 07:09a |Full Rise 04:45p 100%| |Wed 30| 08:19a 05:11p 08:51 | 06:21p 07:09a | Rise 05:40p 99%| |Thu 31| 08:20a 05:12p 08:52 | 06:22p 07:09a | Rise 06:43p 96%| +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ * Nautical Twilight ** Moonrise or moonset, whichever occurs between sunrise and sunset
Generated using my LookingUp for DOS program.
11/30/2020 – Ephemeris – We’ve entered an eclipse season
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Monday, November 30th. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 4 minutes, setting at 5:03, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:00. The Moon, at full today, will rise at 5:22 this evening.
This morning we had a slight eclipse of the Moon, where the Moon entered only the southern part of the Earth’s penumbral or partial shadow. On December 14th, at the next new moon there will be a total eclipse of the Sun that will be visible from South America. We are now in an eclipse season which lasts about 35 days. In that time two or rarely three eclipses can be fit in. The next eclipse season is 5 months and 18 days away in late May and early June 2021. Then there will be, for Michigan, the start of a lunar eclipse visible just before sunrise on May 26th and the end of a solar eclipse visible at sunrise on June 10th. Those two eclipses will just be teasing us. Our next nearby total solar eclipse is less than three and a half years away on April 8, 2024.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
A diagram showing eclipse seasons. Though only solar eclipses are shown, it also includes lunar eclipses. Three months later (actually only a month later) the shadows of each are either too far north or south to fall on the other. Click on the image to enlarge. Credit: NASA/JPL
11/27/2020 – Ephemeris – There will be a slight eclipse of the Moon Monday morning
This is Ephemeris for Native American Heritage Day, Friday, November 27th. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 9 minutes, setting at 5:05, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:57. The Moon, 3 days before full, will set at 6:02 tomorrow morning.
Early Monday morning there will be a penumbral eclipse of the Moon. It’s not much of an eclipse to look at, but it is an eclipse to open the last eclipse season of this year. I’ll have more on that Monday, but the lunar eclipse on Monday will a slight one, where no part of the Moon disappears into the Earth’s inner shadow. The top part of the Moon will look a bit darker than the bottom part for a time, that’s all. The Earth and the Moon are illuminated by the Sun, and it isn’t a point light source. Your shadow isn’t sharp. The fuzziness at the edge of your head’s shadow on the ground in the sunlight is your penumbra. The maximum part of the eclipse will be at 4:44 am (09:44 UT)with the effect seen within a half hour of that time. The effect is best seen with sunglasses to dim the Moon.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The maximum of the penumbral lunar eclipse at 4:44 am EST (9:44 UT) Monday, November 30, 2020. The upper right part of the Moon will have a dusky appearance. The effect should be visible from about 4:15 to 5:15 am (09:15 to 10:15 UT). I find it’s best to view the Moon with sunglasses to reduce the Moon’s glare to better see the effect. Created using Stellarium.
Penumbral lunar eclipse with Earth’s shadow at maximum. The outer ring is the outer edge of the penumbra the Moon’s outer shadow where so little sunlight is cut off as to not be discernible. The inner circle is the edge of the umbra, the darkest part of the Earth’s shadow, where almost 100% of the Sun’s light is cut off. The Moon will be in the western sky at this time, and its motion with respect to the Earth’s shadow is to the upper left. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
11/26/2020 – Ephemeris – A look at Saturn (planet and god) in mythology
This is Ephemeris for Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 26th. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 11 minutes, setting at 5:05, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:55. The Moon, 4 days before full, will set at 4:59 tomorrow morning.
Over the next 25 days Jupiter and Saturn will draw together to be in conjunction. And like I said Tuesday, I don’t know what that means astrologically, since I don’t believe in that stuff. I find the universe quite indifferent to my fate or the fate of anything happening on the third rock. Saturn, which will seem to cross paths with Jupiter on the evening of December 21st, a few hours after winter starts is named after the Roman god of agriculture and periodic renewal among others. He is depicted carrying a scythe, and even today we see him as the Grim Reaper, and at the end of the year as Father Time. The Saturn is the Roman counterpart of the Greek Cronus a Titan, the bringer of old age. It’s a fitting name for the slowest of the naked-eye planets, known from antiquity, taking almost 30 years to shuffle its way around the Sun.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Saturn and rings from the Cassini spacecraft, plus the aurora oval in ultraviolet. Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
A statuette of Cronus (Saturn) shown holding a scythe and an hour glass. Source: https://respuestas.tips/quien-es-cronos-en-la-mitologia-griega/
11/25/2020 – Ephemeris – Let’s look for the naked-eye planets for this week
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, November 25th. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 12 minutes, setting at 5:06, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:54. The Moon, 4 days past first quarter, will set at 3:58 tomorrow morning.
Let’s look for the naked-eye planets for this week. Jupiter and Saturn are both low in the southwestern sky from 7 to 8 pm. Jupiter is the very bright one. Above and left will be dimmer Saturn. They are slowly closing, so they will cross paths on the evening of December 21st and be seen in the same telescope field that evening. Jupiter will set first tonight at 8:41 with Saturn following at 8:56. Off in the southeast at that hour will be Mars above the bright gibbous Moon tonight. Mars’ distance is increasing to 55.6 million miles (89.6 million kilometers) away. Mars will set at 3:47 tomorrow morning. Brilliant Venus will rise at 5:21 am in the east-southeast as it retreats slowly toward, but actually around the back of the Sun.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Evening planets and the Moon for 7 pm tonight November 25, 2020. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
The gibbous Moon as it might be seen in binoculars this evening at 7 pm November 25, 2020. Created using Stellarium.
Venus and the morning constellations at 6:30 am tomorrow November 26, 2020. Created using Stellarium.
The planets as seen in a telescope (north up) with the same magnification for the night of November 25/26, 2020. Times of the display are: Jupiter and Saturn, 7 pm; Mars, 10 pm; Venus, 6:30 am. Apparent diameters: Jupiter, 34.76″; Saturn, 15.76″, rings, 36.72″; Mars, 15.45″, and Venus 11.85″. Mars also displays an enlargement showing surface detail. Mars was closest to the Earth this go-a-round on October 6. The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree.) Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
Planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise of a single night starting with sunset on the right on November 25, 2020. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 26th. I’m afraid that the labels for Jupiter and Saturn will overlap, since the planets are getting very close. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
11/24/2020 – Ephemeris – Next month’s conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn
This is Ephemeris for Tuesday, November 24th. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 14 minutes, setting at 5:06, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:53. The Moon, 3 days past first quarter, will set at 2:57 tomorrow morning.
Over the next 27 days Jupiter and Saturn will draw together to be in conjunction. I don’t know what that means astrologically, since I don’t believe in that stuff. It just means that Jupiter and Saturn lie near the same line of sight from the Earth. Though they will be almost as close as they get to each other, that won’t be that close. They were closest to each other earlier this month, at about 450 million miles (724 million kilometers). Jupiter is now about 525 million miles (845 million kilometers) away from us. Both, of course, are on the other side of the Sun from us. Jupiter, in its nearly 12 year orbit of the Sun laps the slower Saturn in it’s nearly 30 year orbit about every 20 years. It will do so again on November 5th of 2040.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Possible telescopic view of Jupiter-Saturn conjunction 6 pm, December 21, 2020. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
Jupiter and Saturn along the same line of sight from the Earth on December 21, 2020. Created using my LookingUp program.
