Expert: What is the Great Conjunction?

Contact: Kim Ward, University Communications: (517) 432-0117, [email protected], Zach Richardson, University Communications: (517) 281-5786, [email protected].

Dec. 16, 2020

Ask the Expert: The Great Conjunction

EAST LANSING, Mich. – As the world continues to turn during the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us are settling in for a holiday season unlike any other in recent memory. One that, on its face, seems to lack the usual magic of holidays in the past. That would be the case, if not for the once-in-a-lifetime Great Conjunction that will occur on Dec. 21. A Great Conjunction that many are calling the “Christmas Star.” Shannon Schmoll, director of the Abrams Planetarium at Michigan State University, offers her insight on the astronomical event that will be sure to brighten the holidays.

What is a conjunction? Or what qualifies something as a conjunction?
A conjunction at its most basic is when two objects, such as planets, pass each other in the sky. The more specific answer, h