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What is the buzz around December 21? Doomsday to superpowers, all the Internet theories on 'double planet' event

The orbits of Jupiter and Saturn will take them so close together on December 21 that they'll create a 'double planet' phenomenon

Trends on Twitter range from serious politics, celebrations to pop culture and sometimes even bizarre topics as well. Recently, #December21st started trending. Various speculative theories started floating on Twitter while some outlandish theories also suggest that it is doomsday.

Christian evangelist Pastor Paul Begley allegedly forecasted that doomsday would strike on December 21, 2020, claimed a report by The Sun. According to the report, he cited the Mayan calendar and the alignment of two planets on that date as proof for his unsubstantiated claims.

However, according to Pop Buzz, he backtracked on his statement and said, “The end is near, I'm just gonna tell you right now, the end is near. Now, well, people wanna know what day, what hour, what year? The Bible says no man knows the day nor the hour, no. Not the angels in Heaven, not the son of God, but the Father only. We know this in Matthew 24.”

On the other hand, the report suggests the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn will take them so close together on December 21 they'll create a "double planet" phenomenon. It will supposedly lead to the first "conjunction" of the two planets, forming what some are branding a "Christmas star", for several centuries. As mentioned in The Guardian, on December 21 solstice, the planets will look like one star as Jupiter’s and Saturn’s 12 and 29-year orbits bring them together.

The last great conjunction was in May 2000, but due to its position in the sky, it was difficult to see. The great conjunction of 1623 (when Galileo Galilei was still alive) was also hard to see because, the Perth Observatory explains, it appeared close enough to the sun that it would have been “lost in the sun’s glare”.

“You’d have to go all the way back to just before dawn on March 4, 1226, to see a closer alignment between these objects visible in the night sky,” according to Patrick Hartigan, an astronomer from Rice University in Texas, as reported by The Guardian.

The report further states that the celestial phenomenon will be visible from anywhere on earth, but the surroundings will be best near the equator, according to Hartigan. The Christmas “kiss” – as astronomer Dr Brad Tucker from the Australian National University has labeled it – will appear low in the western sky for roughly an hour after sunset.

The Guardian states that Nasa said people should look for them low in the south-west in the hour after sunset when “the two giant planets will appear just a tenth of a degree apart – that’s about the thickness of a dime held at arm’s length.” Tucker explained to look for “a thin crescent moon and two bright objects right next to it”.

According to Cambridge Independent, Paul Fellows, chairman of Cambridge Astronomical Association explains: “At the start of December the planets were around two degrees apart and a little higher in the sky, but as the month goes on, they are approaching each other and will almost appear to touch on December 21. You need a clear horizon without any trees or buildings in the way.”

Paul added: “Try a pair of binoculars and you should get a great view of the two side by side in the same image, with Jupiter being much the brighter of the two. With even a small telescope you will see Jupiter with its family of four large moons, and Saturn with its amazing ring system, and its large moon Titan.” There will be a livestream from Lowell Observatory in Arizona, US, which can be viewed here.

But that didn’t stop people to look beyond scientific logic and talk about their own theories about December 21. Some insinuated they might be getting super powers on the day and started talking about it. One said, “I’m hoping my #December21st power is executive function.” One wrote: “Some of y’all still don’t have powers? That’s tough I’ve been running around the city like this for the past hour.”

Another said, “Shoutout to all the amazing people making these beautiful #December21st memes. I haven't gotten a good genuine laugh like this out of Twitter in a while.” One joked, “I can feel it, my power is kicking in #December21st.” A user stated, “Hopefully tomorrow I will wake up with a renewed mind, body, and spirit.”

These remarks were made by the Internet and individual organizations, MEAWW cannot confirm them independently nor does it support these claims being made on the Internet