BETHLEHEM STAR

Although the Italian painter Bondone portrayed her as a comet, it was most likely a conjunction of planets. Most astronomers believe that it was Jupiter and Saturn who met in the sky in year 2 BC. Although the conjunctions of the two planets occur about every twenty years, they are usually much further apart. This year´s astronomical phenomenon was truly exceptional. The two planets approached only one-fifth the diameter of the full moon, and for most ordinary observers, they merged into one "star" in the night sky. Such an approach last took place in 1623, almost 400 years ago, when it was not at all observable from Earth due to the sun. And this year, people with observation also had a hard time due to the ubiquitous inversion. In the end, I set off for the Jizera Mountains, where a gap had formed in the clouds, and I was able to observe the splendor over the viewpoint of the Frýdlantské cimbuří, through which fog poured into the valley.