In late June 2005, there was a dazzling planetary alignment in the evening:
a conjunction of Venus, Saturn and Mercury, low in the western sky.
Venus, our Twin Planet, is the nearest planet to Earth; it is also the
third brightest celestial object, after the Sun and the Moon. Saturn is fairly
bright, and shines in a yellowish glow. Mercury, however, is sometimes
inconspicuous, and is difficult to observe throughout the year.
Fig (1)
Planets Dazzle Alexandria
![BAaym1.jpg](Planets%20dazzle%20Alexandria_files/image001.jpg)
Venus, Saturn and Mercury over the Bibliotheca Alexandrina Plaza
Photo by Aymen Ibrahem, PSC, Senior Astronomy
Specialist
On 22 June 2005, astronomer Aymen Ibrahem of the PSC photographed the trio
of planets over the Bibliotheca Alexandrina Plaza. The photo shows the statue
of Prometheus at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina as a foreground object; the
brightest celestial object is Venus; Saturn is the star near the torch of
Prometheus, and Mercury is to the right of Venus.
This photo was published last summer by several international publishers.
Further reading
Planets Over the Nile
http://www.bibalex.org/Eclipse2006/News_Details.aspx?id=53
Venus
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Venus&Display=Overview
Mercury
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Mercury&Display=Overview
Saturn
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Saturn&Display=Overview
Aymen Mohamed Ibrahem
PSC, Senior Astronomy Specialist