Next week, the biggest planets in our universe, Jupiter and Saturn, will be as close as they have been since the 17the century.

Will you be watching the mighty celestial spectacle in Hitchin?

On Monday evening, the giant planets will be side to side in their closest meeting for nearly 400 years, when our solar system's two biggest planets form a great conjunction.

The eagerly-awaited event is set to occur above the horizon soon after sunset and will peak around 637pm.

However, the event will be visible from about 430pm until 6pm at 15 degrees above the south-west horizon.

Astronomers advise that if the skies are cloudy the pair of planetary behemoths can still be caught two days either side of their peak.

Such an alignment occurs when Jupiter - which laps the sun in roughly 12 years - and Saturn, which orbits every 29.5 years, come into near alignment with our planet.

History has marked conjunctions to 8th-century Baghdad, while Galileo first observed Jupiter and Saturn in 1610, 13 years before the last great conjunction.

This year, the planets can be viewed in the evening sky one-fifth of the width of a full moon apart.

The great conjunction on Monday, December 21, also coincides with the winter solstice, which means the shortest day of the year and the longest night.

How to watch the great conjunction

The great conjunction peaks at 6.37pm UK time on Monday - but the precise time is not that important because between today, Saturday Wednesday, December 23, the planets will appear close together, at most half a full moon's-width apart.

In our area the best time for viewing the spectacular alignment is between 430pm and 5.30pm.

If clouds aren't present, the pair of imposing planets will appear as two bright dots – between 10 to 15 degrees above the horizon.

Send us your best snaps of the great conjunction or tweet us @HitchinNubNews