UAE: 5 planets to line up in rare celestial event this weekend
A rare parade of planets will be visible in the predawn sky this weekend for UAE sky watchers and sky gazers worldwide.
It’s said just before sunrise Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn will be visible with the naked eyes in an arc on 24 June 2022.
Hasan Al Hariri, CEO-Dubai Astronomy Group, opined, “it is one of the rare astronomical phenomena, to see the lineup to its fullest extent. Enthusiasts need to rise as dawn begins to brighten the sky. Keep in mind that it will be decades before you’ll have another opportunity to see the planets and the Moon arranged in such a manner. So, don’t miss this chance.”
He explained, the best views will be either from an elevated area above any tall buildings or trees, or from a shoreline where you can look out over open water to a flat sea horizon.
Explaining in detail the science behind this rare phenomenon that happens in almost two decades Sarath Raj, Project Director – Amity Dubai Satellite Ground Station and AmiSat, Amity University Dubai says.
“The term ‘planetary alignment’ refers to the planets aligning at the same time. The planets orbit the sun along different paths at different speeds. The planets do not all revolve in the same plane properly in reality. Instead, they sway in a three-dimensional space on various orbits. They will never be exactly aligned because of this. As a result, planetary alignment does not imply a literal lining up, but rather that some of the planets are in the same broad sky region.”
In astronomy, a conjunction occurs when two celestial objects or spacecraft have the same right ascension or ecliptic longitude, as measured from Earth.
