CAIRO - 26 April 2022: Egyptian skies witnessed the conjunction of the moon and Planet Mars in a phenomenon that will be seen in Egypt and the Arab world with naked eyes.
The Jeddah Astronomical Society revealed in a report, that the moon and Mars was observed about three hours before sunrise - towards the southeast horizon, and because the apparent distance between the moon and Mars is wide, they will not appear together in the field of view of the telescope, but this can be done through binoculars.
The planet Mars gradually reappeared after it reached the solar conjunction on the eighth of last October when it was obscured in the glare of the sun, and since that time its sight has improved with the naked eye and its brightness has gradually increased.
Observing the brightness of Mars on a weekly basis is extremely important for observing how it will change dramatically between now and the day of the meeting next October. These dramatic changes in the brightness of Mars (and its red color) are the reason why the ancients called this planet the god of war.
Mars orbits the sun outside of Earth's orbit and the distance between Earth and Mars changes. Sometimes Earth and Mars are on the same side of the solar system and close together, and sometimes, as was the case for most of 2021, Mars and Earth were on roughly opposite sides of the Earth.
The reason the red planet is sometimes so bright is because Earth takes a year to orbit the sun once, and Mars takes about two years to orbit once.
Therefore, in the years that we pass between Mars and the Sun, and Mars is also closer to the Sun, Earth and Mars are also closer.
The date of the next meeting of Mars, when the planet will appear at its peak brightness in two years in the sky, will be in the second half of this year 2022.
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