Stargazers and astronomers in Bahrain and across the world witnessed the ‘cosmic kiss’ of Venus and Jupiter last night during a unique celestial event that won’t occur for another three years.
Venus, the brightest planet in the Earth’s night sky, and Jupiter, the second-brightest, appeared to be nearly touching last night while actually being millions of miles apart in space.
“To the naked eye, it looks like an incredibly bright, near-contact double star shining brilliantly in the western sky right after sunset,” Bahrain Astronomical Society vice-president Dr Waheeb Alnaser told the GDN.
Dr Alnaser
“When they draw close, they create an unmistakable, high-magnitude display that stands out even in areas with significant urban light pollution.”
A planetary conjunction occurs when two or more celestial bodies share the same right ascension or ecliptic longitude, making them appear very close together from the line of sight on Earth.
Last night, their apparent separation was roughly 1.5 to 1.6 degrees – roughly the width of the pinky finger held at arm’s length.
“Because this event is so visually striking, it has captivated humans for millennia,” award-winning Bahrain-based astro-photographer Premjith Narayanan explained.
“Many historians and astronomers believe that an exceptionally close conjunction between Venus and Jupiter, which occurred around 2 BCE, may have been the historical basis for the famous ‘Star of Bethlehem’ mentioned in ancient texts.
“To the ancient world, the merging of Venus, the planet of love and beauty with Jupiter, the king of the planets, was seen as a massive omen.
“I captured the moment from the iconic Tree of Life last night, and from Muharraq on the previous night.”
On average, Venus and Jupiter experience a conjunction roughly once every 13 months.
However, many of these happen too close to the Sun to be seen, or occur in pre-dawn hours.
An evening sky conjunction this bright and clear in the Northern Hemisphere is a rare treat.
“If you missed last night’s peak, the planets will remain relatively close for the next couple of days, though they will gradually pull apart,” Dr Alnaser added.
“The next notable Venus-Jupiter conjunction will take place on November 8, 2028.
“After that, another beautiful evening pairing will occur on September 6, 2029.”
The rest of the year holds a wealth of celestial moments sure to delight skywatchers.
There is a planetary quartet approaching this month, where, over the coming week, Mercury, Venus and Jupiter will join the crescent moon in the sky for a unique four-body grouping in the evening twilight.
Jupiter changed positions relative to Venus last night and continued on its slower 12-year orbit around the sun, while Venus continued on its 225-day orbit.
In August, there will be a total solar eclipse across Greenland, Iceland and Spain, and although Bahrain will not see the totality, it will be the most significant solar eclipse event of the year globally.
On August 12 and 13, the Perseid meteor shower will light up the clear desert skies, with as many as 90 meteors per hour.
There will be a Jupiter retrograde in December this year, during which the planet will appear to temporarily reverse course, moving backward across the background stars.
Next year, on August 2, Bahrain will witness a dramatic 95 per cent partial solar eclipse for around five minutes during the ‘Great Eclipse’ of North Africa and Middle East, making it one of the longest lasting eclipses of the century.
“It’s an opportunity to perform Umra in Mecca and at 1.30pm watch this total solar eclipse,” Dr Alnaser added.
“The eclipse will begin at 12.01pm and end at 2.44pm, with the moon covering the sun’s disc from 1.24pm to 1.29pm.
naman@gdnmedia.bh
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