Observations of the Jupiter-Saturn Conjunction
December 2025 — A Field Report
by The ObservatoryA field report from the great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, including sketches, magnitude estimates, and notes on the atmospheric seeing conditions throughout the event.
Setup
Observation conducted from a dark-sky site at 40.7°N, 74.0°W, using a 150mm Newtonian reflector at 75x and 150x magnification.
Timeline
- 18:42 local — Both planets visible low in the southwest. Separation approximately 0.1°.
- 19:05 — At 150x, both planets resolved in the same field of view. Jupiter's bands faintly visible; Saturn's rings clearly oriented.
- 19:30 — Seeing deteriorated as the pair sank into thicker air. Jupiter's bands lost.
Sketches
Hand sketches were made at 10-minute intervals. The relative positions of the Galilean moons were recorded; Io was occulted by Jupiter's shadow at approximately 19:18.
Notes
The conjunction was striking to the naked eye, but the telescopic view was the more profound experience — two worlds, so far apart in reality, sharing a single field. It is in these moments that the scale of the solar system becomes viscerally real.
Jupiter
Find it in the sky