02 May 2012
The Moon-Mars conjunction on 1 May 2012
Photo by Aymen Ibrahem, Senior Astronomy Specialist
On the evening of 1 May 2012, a conjunction of the Moon and Mars was visible in the skies of Egypt. When two or more celestial objects are located close to the line of sight, they are in conjunction. Mars was visible to the unaided eye as a bright reddish star close to the nearly 10-days old Moon. Observing from the BA Plaza, Senior Astronomy Specialist, Aymen Ibrahem, photographed the conjunction.
Conjunctions are among the most beautiful naked-eye astronomical phenomena. Memorable conjunctions events include the Moon-Venus-Jupiter conjunction of 1 December 2008 and the Jupiter-Venus conjunction of 13 March 2012.
During the evening of 1 May, the Moon was about 374,000 km from Earth, while Mars was over 380 times more distant than the Moon, at a distance of approximately 143 million km. Interestingly, the planets Venus and Saturn were also visible. Venus, the brightest and nearest planet, shone as a brilliant white star, in the western sky. Saturn, the ringed wonderful planet, appeared as a bright yellowish star, above to the eastern horizon.
Aymen Mohamed Ibrahem
Senior Astronomy Specialist