Jeddah, This Wednesday, the crescent moon will be seen near reddish Mars in the pre-dawn sky. The two celestial objects will be about five degrees apart, forming a triangle with Jupiter, visible to the naked eye.
Majed Abu Zahra from the Jeddah Astronomy Society (JAS) said that the moon and Mars will be visible toward the eastern horizon before sunrise. Although too far apart to be observed together through a telescope, they can still be viewed together using binoculars, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
Abu Zahra said Mars’ brightness should be observed regularly to see its significant changes leading up to its opposition in mid-January 2025. The variations in brightness and the distinct red color of this planet make it fascinating to observe it in the night sky.
Abu Zahra highlighted that Mars is much smaller than Jupiter, having a diameter of 6,790 kilometers, compared to Jupiter’s 140,000 kilometers, and this size gap means that over 20 Mars-sized planets could line up across Jupiter, which a
ppears bright due to its large size. He also said that because Mars orbits the sun farther out than Earth, the distance between the two planets constantly changes.
He added that Mars appears bright at times because it orbits the sun slower than Earth. While Earth orbits the sun in a year, Mars takes about two Earth years. Mars’ opposition happens every two years and 50 days, when Earth passes between Mars and the sun.
Source: Bahrain News Agency