. . World News – USA – Tonight is the longest night of the year. You can use it to see a meteor shower and the historic double planet Jupiter-Saturn. ‘

Monday evening brings an astronomical anomaly. It’s the longest night of the year for the northern hemisphere – the winter solstice – and there will be both a meteor shower and a « double planet » that occurs once every 800 years. « 

Jupiter and Saturn, as bright as stars in the night sky, appear so close to each other that they seem to be touching. Alignment or conjunction between these two planets occurs every 20 years, but the last time they looked this close from Earth’s point of view was on Aug.. March 1226.

At the same time, the Ursids meteor shower reaches its peak and sends five to ten falling stars across the night sky every hour. That’s because the Earth will pass through the thickest part of a trail of debris left by Comet 8P / Tuttle. When these pieces of ice and dust burn in the atmosphere, they can leave bright flares in the sky.

All of this will take place at the winter solstice, when the tilt of the Earth’s axis and the shape of its orbit will bring the Northern Hemisphere to its furthest point from the Sun.. This makes Monday the shortest day (and longest night) of the year for this half of the world.

You can take advantage of the long night to see the historic double planet and bonus meteor shower.

Jupiter and Saturn are actually more than four times as far apart as the earth and the sun. But on Monday evening they will be separated in the sky by a distance about one-fifth the diameter of a full moon. According to NASA, a pinky finger at arm’s length should easily cover both Jupiter and Saturn in the sky.

According to NASA, this « poinsettia », as the conjunction was called, should appear brighter than almost any star in the sky.

So you should be able to see it with the naked eye, especially if you are far from the city lights. A telescope or binoculars could help you spy on the planets’ moons. According to NASA, your phone’s camera could even take photos of the merging planets – if your timing is right.

« You need to have a clear southwest horizon and no deep clouds in the distance, » said Patrick Hartigan, professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University, on his website.

For viewers in the US, Canada, and Europe, it might be difficult to see the conjunction as it will be low on the horizon, Hartigan said.

« Viewing conditions are best around the equator, although no matter where you are, it may take an hour to observe this conjunction before the planets are misty, » he added.

To get an optimal view of the conjunction, go out towards evening (one hour after sunset) and point your telescope at the southwestern sky. (Websites like Stellarium can help you align your telescope. )

To catch the falling stars, stay outside a little later. As soon as the moon sets – after midnight – a dark sky provides a better backdrop to spot meteors.

If it is cloudy on Monday, don’t worry. The conjunction lasts until the 25th. December. Solstice is exactly when the two planets are closest in the sky.

The Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona will be hosting a YouTube livestream of views through its telescopes starting at 7 p.m.. m. ET on Monday. In Rome, the Virtual Telescope Project also plans to share live views of the conjunction.

Meteor shower, meteoroid, Ursiden, star, winter solstice