Jupiter and Saturn aligned in the night sky on Monday, appearing in planetary kissing range, an intimacy that will not occur again until 2080. The last time the two gas giants looked this close together was during Galileo's time in the 17th century. The two planets were, in fact, more than 730 million kilometres apart. But because of their alignment in relation to Earth, they appeared to be closer to each other.
Astronomers say so-called conjunctions between the two largest planets in our solar system aren't particularly rare. Jupiter passes its neighbor Saturn in their respective laps around the sun every 20 years.