RAFHA: A spectacular celestial event occurred over Saudi Arabia’s northern skies on Saturday night, with the moon and Venus in conjunction, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday.
Known as a conjunction, the phenomenon in the sky after sunset in the Northern Border region was visible to the naked eye, with the moon and the planet separated by just three degrees.
A conjunction occurs when two celestial objects appear close to each other in the sky and share the same celestial longitude, according to astronomer Berjis Al-Fulaih.
Al-Fulaih, an official with the AFAQ Society for Astronomy in Taif, noted that Venus is often referred to as the “Evening Star” or the “Morning Star,” depending on its position in the west or east.
The alignment marks the beginning of the moon’s monthly journey past the bright planets.
In an interview with SPA before the celestial event, Jeddah Astronomy Society chief Majed Abu Zahra said the appearance of the crescent moon and Venus together shortly after sunset, before the sky darkened fully, created the spectacular view.
“As the second and third brightest objects in the night sky, after the sun, they will present a striking view,” he said.
A faint glow, caused by sunlight reflecting off Earth (known as Earthshine), will softly illuminate the unlit part of the moon’s disk, he explained.
Abu Zahra said there will be another astronomical event in mid-October: the arrival of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, which will appear 20 to 25 degrees northwest of Venus on Oct. 13 and 14. The comet may even be visible to the naked eye, although comets are notoriously unpredictable.
By Oct. 25, Venus will appear three degrees north of the star Antares. Toward the end of the month, Venus will draw closer to Earth, with its disk measuring 14 arcseconds and being 77 percent illuminated, Abu Zahra told SPA.
