Dunedin amateur astronomer Ash Pennell with the Beverly- Begg Observatory's 35cm telescope. Photo / Gerard O'BrienDunedin amateur astronomers recently gained a rare New Zealand sighting, one of the best in the country, of the Great Conjunction, involving Jupiter and Saturn. This was the closest pairing of the two giant gas planets seen from Earth since 1623, almost 400 years ago. However, Dunedin astronomers had hoped for a break in the weather and set up their computerised telescope to make an unusual daylight observation from the society's Beverly-Begg Observatory that afternoon. Dunedin astronomers were "thrilled" to get a good view of the Great Conjunction from about 2.40pm, when skies briefly cleared.

Source: New Zealand Herald January 05, 2021 20:26 UTC