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Tribune News Network
Doha
Mercury will align with the Sun and the Earth on a straight line in what is known as superior conjunction on Tuesday at 4pm local time, Qatar Calendar House (QCH) said in a statement on Monday.
Superior conjunction of Mercury is a significant astronomical phenomenon as it marks Mercury’s transition from the morning sky over the eastern horizon to the evening sky over the western horizon to appear after sunset, astronomy expert at QCH Dr Beshir Marzouk said.
During the superior conjunction of Mercury, sun will be in between Mercury and Earth and Mercury will be at the farthest point from the Earth’s centre — around 198 million kilometres.
Dr Marzouk said Mercury would pass very close to the Sun during superior conjunction. Moreover, he added, Mercury could be seen moving behind the sun when observing from the Earth and would be unobservable for coming several weeks.
Residents in Qatar and countries in the Arab regions will be able to observe Mercury over western horizon approximately around the second week of June 2019.
On Tuesday, Mercury will rise over the skies of Earth, including that of Qatar, and won’t be visible.
The superior conjunction of Mercury last occurred on January 30, 2019 (Wednesday) and the next will be on another Wednesday, September 4, 2019.
In astronomy, there are two types of conjunctions — superior and inferior. An inferior conjunction occurs when a Solar System body lies along a straight line between the Earth and the sun, with the Earth in between the two.
Superior conjunction occurs for all solar system planets, while inferior conjunction occurs for only two planets — Mercury and Venus — because they orbit around the sun inside the Earth’s orbit.
Doha
Mercury will align with the Sun and the Earth on a straight line in what is known as superior conjunction on Tuesday at 4pm local time, Qatar Calendar House (QCH) said in a statement on Monday.
Superior conjunction of Mercury is a significant astronomical phenomenon as it marks Mercury’s transition from the morning sky over the eastern horizon to the evening sky over the western horizon to appear after sunset, astronomy expert at QCH Dr Beshir Marzouk said.
During the superior conjunction of Mercury, sun will be in between Mercury and Earth and Mercury will be at the farthest point from the Earth’s centre — around 198 million kilometres.
Dr Marzouk said Mercury would pass very close to the Sun during superior conjunction. Moreover, he added, Mercury could be seen moving behind the sun when observing from the Earth and would be unobservable for coming several weeks.
Residents in Qatar and countries in the Arab regions will be able to observe Mercury over western horizon approximately around the second week of June 2019.
On Tuesday, Mercury will rise over the skies of Earth, including that of Qatar, and won’t be visible.
The superior conjunction of Mercury last occurred on January 30, 2019 (Wednesday) and the next will be on another Wednesday, September 4, 2019.
In astronomy, there are two types of conjunctions — superior and inferior. An inferior conjunction occurs when a Solar System body lies along a straight line between the Earth and the sun, with the Earth in between the two.
Superior conjunction occurs for all solar system planets, while inferior conjunction occurs for only two planets — Mercury and Venus — because they orbit around the sun inside the Earth’s orbit.
