Jeddah, October 05, 2024 – Tonight, stargazers across the Arab world are in for a spectacular celestial event as the moon and Venus will be in conjunction, appearing just three degrees apart in the night sky. This rare alignment of two of the brightest objects in the heavens is a stunning sight visible to the naked eye, marking the start of the moon's monthly passage past the bright planets.
Eng. Majed Abu Zahra, head of the Jeddah Astronomy Society, explained that this celestial pairing will become visible shortly after sunset, offering a striking visual experience before the sky darkens completely. The crescent moon and Venus, the second and third brightest objects in the sky after the sun, will create a beautiful and memorable display. Adding to the beauty of the scene, the unlit part of the moon will be softly illuminated by Earthshine—a faint glow caused by sunlight reflecting off the Earth and casting a soft light on the moon’s shadowed portion.
While the moon and Venus will be too far apart to be viewed together through a telescope, Abu Zahra noted that binoculars would provide an ideal way to observe the celestial bodies more closely. Venus, which sets about 80 minutes after sunset during early October, presents a great opportunity for observation during twilight. At present, through a telescope, Venus appears as a disk that is 83% illuminated by sunlight.
In addition to tonight's conjunction, Abu Zahra highlighted another exciting astronomical event occurring in mid-October: the arrival of Comet Tsuchinshan–ATLAS. The comet is expected to appear around 20 to 25 degrees northwest of Venus on October 13 and 14. Although comets are notoriously unpredictable, there is a possibility that this one may be visible to the naked eye.
Looking ahead, by October 25, Venus will appear three degrees north of the star Antares, and toward the end of the month, Venus will draw even closer to Earth. By that time, its disk will measure 14 arcseconds, and 77% of it will be illuminated by sunlight, offering further opportunities for exciting celestial observations.