This week saw the Great Conjunction – when Jupiter and Saturn sit almost on top of each other in the night sky – and UAE photographer Florian Kriechbaumer managed to capture the space phenomenon as it appeared next to the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.
The Great Conjunction hasn’t happened in more than 800 years.
The Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. Was able to capture the planets setting behind Burj Khalifa. #BurjKhalifa #saturn #jupiter #GreatConjunction #nasa #universe #space #nasa #yourshotphotographer #natgeo pic.twitter.com/epRNbgZZGg
— Florian Kriechbaumer (@djflore) December 21, 2020
While the spectacle was visible to the naked eye, it was easier to see the conjunction via telecsope or a telephoto lens. Kriechbaumer managed to capture shots of the celestial event from a parking garage opposite the Burj Khalifa, in Downtown Dubai.
He filmed the event for around 45 minutes, however condensed it down to the 20-second timelapse video you can see below.
And last, the close up video – my favourite. Hope you enjoyed the show. #saturn #jupiter #GreatConjunction #BurjKhalifa #space #nasa #natgeo #universe pic.twitter.com/coud1R9zHC
— Florian Kriechbaumer (@djflore) December 21, 2020
While the video indeed makes it look like Saturn and Jupiter were very close, in reality they were still more than 500 million miles apart.
The Great Conjunction was visible to many people across the UAE. While some people headed out to the desert to escape light pollution to see the space phenomenon, others – like Kriechbaumer – proved that you can still enjoy looking up at the stars from within cities like Dubai.
