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Tribune News Network
Doha
SATURN, the planet with beautiful rings, will be moving close to the nearest planet of the sun, Mercury over Qatar and the Arab sky on Thursday; wherein the angular distance between Mercury and Saturn will be 1.3 degrees, Qatar Calendar House (QCH) said on Wednesday.
Qatar residents will be able to observe this celestial spectacle over western horizon by using astronomical instrumentation from 4:44pm to 5:33pm, QCH Astronomer Dr Beshir Marzouk said.
Saturn will be approaching Mercury again on January 13, 2018, where the angular distance between Mercury and Saturn will be less than one degree. Qatar residents will have an opportunity to watch Saturn and Mercury together with naked eyes over eastern horizon of Qatar from 5am to 6:21am Doha local time, Dr Marzouk added.
This astronomical phenomenon is important because on the one hand it gives residents a chance to watch Saturn and Mercury together and on the other, it helps amateur astronomers to know the map of the sky and validates astronomical calculations.
