Around Town

School break starts Friday afternoon

After a half day of school Friday, Dec. 18, students and staff in Holyoke School District will begin their Christmas break. Following two full weeks of no school plus a teacher inservice day Monday, Jan. 4, classes will resume Tuesday, Jan. 5.

Look for ‘Christmas Star’ Monday evening

Jupiter and Saturn have been gradually moving closer to each other for months, and on the winter solstice, Monday, Dec. 21, the two worlds will be at their closest. Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions happen every 20 years. But these conjunctions aren’t all created equal. The 2020 great conjunction will be the closest since 1623 and the closest observable since 1226.

Keep in mind that while the two gas giants may appear close, in reality they are hundreds of millions of miles apart. This will still be quite a striking sight, but you will need to look fast as both planets will set shortly after sunset. Look above the western horizon after sunset for these bright, close planets — a clear view will help!

Jupiter is brighter than any star. Saturn isn’t as bright as Jupiter, but it’s as bright as the brightest stars and shines with a distinctly golden color. Unlike the twinkling stars, Jupiter and Saturn both shine steadily.

Some have nicknamed this the “Christmas Star” because there’s speculation that the biblical wise men saw the conjunction of the planets and were inspired to travel to Bethlehem when Jesus was born.

Send graduation info to Enterprise

The Enterprise would like to celebrate with recent graduates of colleges, universities, military programs and trade schools. Information and a photo can be sent to editor@jpipapers.com to be included in the newspaper at no cost.