Jaw-Dropping Celestial Event: Planetary Alignment and Waning Crescent Moon

2024-02-07 23:00:00

Written by Mahmoud Ragheb Thursday, February 8, 2024 01:00 AM

This morning, Thursday, February 8, 2024, and shortly before sunrise, the waning crescent of the moon for the month of Rajab will be observed to the right of the three rocky planets in our solar system, which are Flower Mars and Mercury will also be in alignment – for the observer – with the southeastern horizon, and seeing this conjunction will be better from the southern hemisphere of the Earth due to the higher angle of inclination of the sun’s path.

The Jeddah Astronomical Society revealed in a report that the observer will need the eastern horizon to be completely exposed to see the planets, especially Mars and Mercury.

In general, observers in the northern hemisphere, especially those at high latitudes, will have difficulty seeing this event, given that the path of the sun is near the horizon at this time of the year, but they can see Venus and the waning crescent moon, while Mars and Mercury will lose the glow of twilight light. In the morning, Mercury will be very close to the sun for observers in the northern hemisphere of the Earth, and it cannot be seen easily.

For those living in the southern hemisphere, Venus will be like a piece of diamond adorning the sky. It is the highest and brightest rocky planet. Beneath Venus is Mars, which is faint but clearly reddish. The one closest to the horizon is faint Mercury. In addition, a subtle glow can be seen on the unlit part. From the crescent moon, which is the result of sunlight reflecting off the Earth.

As is always the case, monitoring must be done before sunrise, and you must never look at the sun directly with the naked eye. Do not look at the sun except using devices designated for viewing the sun, as there are a number of large active spots on its surface at the present time.