The "2020 Great Conjunction" of Jupiter and Saturn

𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐁𝐄𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆: 𝐒𝐚𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐲, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞, 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐃-𝟏𝟗 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐬, 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐧 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨 𝐁𝐚𝐲 𝐀𝐫𝐞𝐚. 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲-𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐰𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐲. 𝐒𝐞𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐃-𝟏𝟗 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐰. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮!

You've probably heard about this... it's the closest the giant planets have appeared from Earth for hundreds of years, called the "Great Conjunction of 2020." You can see it tonight from anywhere on Earth, but you'll want a clear horizon to the southwest. The clearest horizon in the Bay Area is the Pacific Ocean, and you're welcome to view this over the ocean from Pacifica if you like (details below). Day-of-event text inquiries can go to Davis at 𝟔𝟓𝟎.𝟕𝟎𝟒.𝟏𝟗𝟎𝟓

For a brief time about every twenty years, the Earth, Jupiter and Saturn form a rough line in the Solar System, which means that Jupiter and Saturn appear to us to be close together in the sky. 2020 is unusual because they'll pass much closer to one another than usual - just 1/10 of one degree, which is much less than the apparent diameter of the Moon. The next time they'll be this close together will be Friday, March 15, 2080 (and yes, we've scheduled a New Beginnings event for that, too, at www.meetup.com/Bay-Area-New-Beginnings/events/275142666).

There's lots of great take-out food close to our meeting place. Details: https://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=restaurants&find_loc=94044&l=g%3A-122.48851372567935%2C37.654167620475874%2C-122.49471499292179%2C37.64599579554878

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧?
• Sunset at 4:56pm (again assuming a clear horizon)
• Roughly 5:20... Jupiter pops into view in the darkening sky
• Roughly 5:30... dimmer Saturn appears near Jupiter
• Sky darkens and conjunction becomes more dramatic
• 7:09pm... Jupiter and Saturn set nearly simultaneously

𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐈 𝐚𝐦?
On any night before the 21st, go outside after sunset... and if you can see bright Jupiter and dimmer Saturn, you should be able to see the conjunction on the 21st. They will be slightly lower in the sky each night until then, but that change is relatively small.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐏𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚?
As noted above, a west-facing coast is the best place to see this. New Beginnings members are welcome to gather at the address shown on this page. We'll watch from the bluff, or take the path down to Esplanade Beach where it's nice and dark for sky viewing. Park on the street and meet at the top of the path facing the ocean. What to bring: a COVID-appropriate face mask, warm clothes, a flashlight, food and drink of your choosing (the rules say "no glass"), and a beach chair or blanket. It could be damp and/or cold, so come prepared! Fires are unfortunately not allowed on this beach. High tide on the 21st is at 3:50pm, it's a lower-than-average high tide, and the tide will be going out all evening - but never turn your back on the ocean! If you're coming in person, please read and respect our COVID-19 event policies at www.divorceandrelationshiprecovery.org/live-events

𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞-𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤!
There are only 𝐓𝐄𝐍 days left to become a 2020 Supporting Member of Bay Area New Beginnings and Divorce and Relationship Recovery. Please give today at www.bit.ly/banb-donate and add yourself to the 72 people that have already done it.