The Qatari Calendar House announced that the red planet (Mars) will meet with the planet with wonderful rings (Saturn) in the sky of the State of Qatar and the countries of the Arab region, at dawn on the day following tomorrow / next Tuesday, the fourth of Ramadan 1443 AH, corresponding to April 5, 2022 AD. Where the angular distance between them will be less than regarding half a degree of arc.
Dr. Bashir Marzouk, an astronomer expert at the Qatar Calendar House, said that residents of the Arab region, including the residents of the State of Qatar, will be able to see and monitor the two planets Mars and Saturn together in the dawn sky, towards the eastern horizon with the naked eye or using astronomical devices following the date of the sunrise of both Mars and Saturn on Qatar sky at 2:49 am Doha local time, and even before sunrise on Tuesday at 5:22 am Doha time.
The astronomer explained that the importance of this astronomical phenomenon lies in the fact that it is a good opportunity to see, monitor and photograph the two planets Mars and Saturn together at the closest point on the page of the sky, in addition to that it confirms the accuracy of astronomical calculations in calculating the orbits of the movement of celestial bodies, especially the movement of the planets of the solar system, which is a guide for amateurs Astronomy in the State of Qatar and the countries of the Arab region to identify the celestial bodies that can be monitored and seen every night in the sky of the countries of the Arab region and the State of Qatar.
Marzouk pointed out that Mars reaches its closest point to Saturn once every two years, as Mars previously reached its closest point to Saturn on Tuesday, March 31, 2020, while the next time Mars reaches its closest point to Saturn will be on Thursday 11 April 2024
It is worth noting that Saturn is a gas giant, in addition to being the second largest planet in the solar system, with a diameter of approximately 10 times the diameter of the Earth. While Mars is the fourth farthest planet from the sun, Mars completes a full revolution around the sun (the length of the year on Mars) in approximately 687 days, and two moons revolve around it: Phobos and Deimos.
