Saudi Arabia to witness closest conjunction of two planets, Mercury and Mars

According to the Astronomical Society of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the closest conjunction of two planets, Mercury and Mars, will occur next Wednesday in the sky of the Kingdom and the Arab globe.

“The sky of Saudi Arabia and the Arab world will witness the closest conjunction of two planets, Mercury and Mars, on the dome of the sky at dusk of the evening on Wednesday, August 18, 2021, as they will be separated by less than 0.1 degrees on the western horizon, allowing Both planets to share the same telescope fiat,” according to the Astronomical Society in Jeddah.

“These two planets will appear below Venus over time, although they are near to the horizon, with Mercury to the observer’s right and Mars next to it.”

 “Observing this planetary conjunction will be simpler for inhabitants in the southern hemisphere, compared to northern latitudes, where Mercury and Mars will linger above the horizon for a longer duration after sunset at southern latitudes, while they will set after sunset at northern latitudes,” he said. At northern latitudes, the sun shines short.

In the northern mid-latitudes, binoculars may be necessary to see Mercury and Mars, he added. Binoculars are required to observe Mars engulfing Mercury in the same field of vision while seeing Mercury with the naked eye since Mercury is eight times brighter than Mars.

The chairman of the Jeddah Astronomical Society went on to say: “Two planets are considered to be in conjunction when they are north and south of each other on the straight ascension, according to science. The longitude on the surface of the Earth is equal to the straight ascension on the cosmic sphere.”

 On September 16, 2017, Mercury and Mars had their closest visual conjunction of less than (0.1 degrees), which will happen again on August 23, 2032.