Majid Abu Zahira, chief engineer of the Astronomical Society in Jeddah, said: “The sky of Saudi Arabia and the Arab world are the closest conjunction of the two planets, Mercury and Mars, on Wednesday, August 18, 2021. In the evening sky, they will be separated by less than 0.1 degrees on the western horizon, which will allow the two planets to share the same telescopic field.

Majeed Abu Zahira continued: “At first, the brightest planet Venus will appear shortly after sunset, and then over time these two planets will appear below Venus, but they are closer to the horizon, where Mercury is to the right of the observer and the next to Mars,” Note “Generally, this planet The link is easily visible to those living in the southern hemisphere, with latitudes above the horizon after Mercury and Mars’ southern sunsets compared to northern latitudes, but on the contrary, they disappeared shortly after sunset at northern latitudes.

He continued, “For north-mid latitudes, binoculars may be needed to see Mercury and Mars. Mercury is eight times brighter than Mars.

And the president of the Astronomical Society in Jeddah continued: “Scientifically, two planets are said to be one when they ascend directly toward each other north and south. Ascending straight into the sky equals the surface of the earth.”

He added: “When the two planets are separated by less than 0.1 degrees = 6 arc minutes = 360 seconds, they will be at the apex of the sky, so the conjunction of Mercury and Mars on August 19 is the only close connection. Between the two planets in 2021.

According to “earlier”, “a less close connection (0.1 degrees) between Mercury and Mars occurred last September 16, 2017, and it will occur again on August 23, 2032.”