The two largest planets are in Taurus for the winter of 2000/2001, and here we see the king of planets between the Pleiades and the Hyades, while Saturn is still in western Taurus near the Aries border. Jupiter is magnitude -2.85 while Saturn is magnitude -0.70, which is quite bright, due mainly to the rings being fairly wide open. They are separated by 9°19'33" on this evening.
One of the astronomical highlights of the year 2000 was the conjunction, then followed by the close opposition, of the two largest planets, Jupiter and Saturn. Both these events occurred in the constellation Taurus, with the conjunc- tion being on May 28. Of course, at that time of the year, the Sun is also in Taurus, result- ing in that conjunction taking place less than 16° west of the Sun in the morning sky, making it extremely difficult to see.
Jupiter and Saturn remained close for the rest of the year, although Jupiter gradually pulled away from Saturn to the east. Saturn's opposi- tion came first, on November 19, while Jupiter arrived at its opposition nine days after that on the 28th.
This year in which Jupiter and Saturn achieved a conjunction marks an event which happens one out of every 20 years. The previous event was a triple conjunction in Virgo in 1981, and the conjunction following the current one is going to be in 2020 in Capricornus. These events all occur in these three constellations: Capricor- nus, Taurus, and Virgo, each about 120° apart along the ecliptic.