【House of Pleasures (House of Tolerance)】

The House of Pleasures (House of Tolerance)gas giants Saturn and Jupiter are drawing ever closer together.

Well, from our Earthling perspective anyhow.

The "great conjunction" of these planets in the night sky is imminent. They will be closest on Dec. 21, appearing as a "double planet." The celestial event, also known as the "Christmas Star," hasn't occurred at night for almost 800 years.

"You can imagine the solar system to be a racetrack, with each of the planets as a runner in their own lane and the Earth toward the center of the stadium," Henry Throop, an astronomer in NASA's Planetary Science Division, said in a statement. "From our vantage point, we’ll be able to...see Jupiter on the inside lane, approaching Saturn all month and finally overtaking it on December 21."

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

In reality, however, the planets will still be hundreds of millions of miles apart. It will be cool. Here's what to know:

The night sky on Dec. 21, 2020. Credit: nasa

• How close will the planets appear? "The closest alignment will appear just a tenth of a degree apart and last for a few days," wrote NASA. "On the 21st, they will appear so close that a pinkie finger at arm’s length will easily cover both planets in the sky. The planets will be easy to see with the unaided eye by looking toward the southwest just after sunset."

• Look to the Southwest an hour after sunset in a place (like a field) where buildings or hills aren't obstructing your view. Avoid bright streetlights. Jupiter, which overall is the third brightest nighttime object in our sky (after the moon and Venus), will be its radiant self and easily visible — unless it's cloudy! Saturn will be fainter. Until Dec. 21, Saturn will appear to the upper left of Jupiter, but on Dec. 21 Jupiter will pass Saturn, reversing their positions.

• Use binoculars! Or a telescope. "The planets can be seen with the unaided eye," wrote NASA, "but if you have binoculars or a small telescope, you may be able to see Jupiter’s four large moons orbiting the giant planet."

Something to ponder as you stare up at the conjunction: One of those little dots around Jupiter, if you can see them, is the moon Europa. It's an ice-covered moon believed to hold an ocean of water or slushy ice. "Europa’s vast and unfathomably deep ocean is widely considered the most promising place to look for life beyond Earth," writes NASA.

Happy sky viewing, and pondering...

Related Video: These are our favorite space movies

• Social Good
• Digital Culture
• Tech
• Games
• Deals
• Science
• Shopping
• Entertainment

• Against Fear
• The jeans absolutely no one needs, wants, or asked for
• iPhone 8 expected to dominate Galaxy S8 in the smartphone market
• Sticker beef turns into all
• 4GHz CPU Battle: AMD 2nd
• Bars are throwing out this brand of beer in the name of marriage equality
• Tinder is down and the app's most desperate singles are freaking out
• Marissa Mayer will get a cool $23 million when she loses her job
• U.N. confirms the ocean is screwed
• Here's what the home screen on Samsung's Galaxy S8 might look like

• For Graduates: The Paris Review’s Commencement Gift Box
• In “Take a Girl Like You,” Kingsley Amis Got Serious
• Microsoft pulling back on unorthodox Surface devices
• 'Quordle' today: See each 'Quordle' answer and hints for September 22, 2023
• Should Ovid Come With a Trigger Warning?
• How British
• Remembering the Art of the 1990s
• Remembering Irony’s Awkward In
• Best streaming deal: Amazon Fire TV Stick is 43% off with free MGM+
• 'Quordle' today: See each 'Quordle' answer and hints for September 21, 2023

• Against Fear
• 'Deal with it' reporter is everyone's new favorite reaction GIF
• GIPHY introduces new GIPHY Stickers app and API
• Oppo smartphone with dual selfie camera is launching on March 23
• Best Samsung Frame deal: Free Music Frame with Frame Pro art TV purchase
• Tinder is down and the app's most desperate singles are freaking out
• We're doomed (for a day): Paralyzing blizzard set to slam Philly, New York and Boston
• 'Hamilton' gets a second national tour because we deserve something nice
• Best headphones deal: Save up to 51% on Beats at Amazon
• 14 things we learned from Ewan McGregor's glorious Reddit AMA

• Mary Shows Up
• Apocalypse came a little early for this guy in 'Horizon: Zero Dawn'
• Here's what the home screen on Samsung's Galaxy S8 might look like
• The author of that heartbreaking dating profile for her husband has died
• Seven Steam games whose reviews have changed a lot
• This mountain rescue dog will help you find your snow
• Tinder is down and the app's most desperate singles are freaking out
• Here's what the home screen on Samsung's Galaxy S8 might look like
• 44 GPU Fortnite Benchmark: The Best Graphics Cards for Playing Battle Royale
• You might not know it, but this Kiwi city is a total street art wonderland