01 September 2016
Prepared by: Dr. Omar Fikry
Observing the sky is of a great pleasure but light pollution is hindering us from these visual and intellectual pleasure. It is worth mentioning the most astronomical phenomena and events that can be pursued in the sky of Alexandria.
Saturday night, 3 September 2013
Just after sunset, Dhul Hijjah’s crescent will be the middle of Venus at a distance of one degree and half; one of the most shining stars in the sky called Spica at a distance of 6 degrees.
Then the planet Venus rises slowly just after sunset. During Autumn and Winter, we will be able to observe it better.
Tuesday night, 6 September 2016
The moon is in a place called Apogee which means that the moon is in the farthest point away from Earth, and it is known astronomically that the moon revolves in an elliptical or oval orbit around the Earth, where the moon sometimes approaches the Earth and sometimes moves away from it every month. In case of Apogee, the moon is 405,504 kilometers away from Earth, this will happen exactly at 8:44 pm CLT. While in the case of Perigee, which is the closest point to the moon, the moon will be 363,396 kilometers away from Earth, this will happen on Sunday night 18 September at 7:00 pm CLT exactly. In the case of Apogee, the size of the moon is 14% bigger and 30% more brighter, if the full moon coincided with the Apogee, a Supermoon will result.
Thursday night, 8 September 2016
The moon will visit three amazing celestial bodies which can be seen with bare eyes, and they will be brighter and striking using the telescopes. Those three celestial bodies are Saturn, Antares, and Mars. On this night, the moon comes about 3 degrees closer to Saturn then moves to be closer to Mars forming a quadrilateral shape which is worth watching.
Friday night, 16 September 2016
On this night, a Penumbral Lunar Eclipse will occur, and it can be seen in the Arab region. This phenomenon will start at 6:54 pm CLT. It is not an easy to monitor phenomenon due to the slight difference between the normal moon and the moon during Penumbral Lunar Eclipse.
Sunday night, 18 September 2016
A phenomenon called Occultation will occur when two celestial bodies approach each other closely. At this night and just after sunset, the planet Venus will be in conjunction with the star Spica, separated only by two degrees. The blue giant star Spica is 250 light years away from us. Its diameter is seven times the diameter of the Sun. The temperature of its surface reaches 23,000 degrees. The Spica star is 29 million years old only, and despite of this it will die quickly because of the very fast the combustion rate.
Wednesday night 21 September 2016
Aldebaran, the brightest star of Taurus, shines few minutes before midnight veiled behind the moon, and during the rest of this night Aldabran will come out from behind the moon and will be separated from the it at 2:00 am. Next winter, Aldabran will be the center of our attention.
Thursday night, 22 September 2016
Autumnal Equinox will occur exactly at 4:22 CLT. On that day, the sun will be perfectly perpendicular on the equator, and this announces the official astronomical start of Autumn.
Wednesday night, 28 September 2016
Another occultation phenomenon will occur tonight and before sunrise. The crescent moon of Dhul Hijjah will shine together with the brightest star in Leo; this star is called Regulus. Below this duo, you can observe the Mercury planet that appears brownish orange in color. The last crescent shines very close to Mercury on Thursday 29 September, but it will be very challenging and very difficult for those who try to observe it because of the daylight, which will have begun.
Photo Credit: NASA educational website; Arabized.