Jeddah: The skies of the Arab world will witness a beautiful conjunction this evening between the waxing gibbous moon and the star Spica, with a separation of about 1.5 degrees. This scene can be seen with the naked eye if the sky is clear and free of clouds.
According to Saudi Press Agency, Engineer Majed Abu Zahra, head of the Jeddah Astronomical Society, explained that at the same time, this star will be occulted behind the moon, but it will only be visible from limited areas such as Antarctica, the French Southern Territories, southern Tasmania, and the Heard and McDonald Islands. He indicated that this occultation cannot be seen from most parts of the world due to the difference in the moon's position in the sky from one place to another by up to two degrees, or four times the apparent diameter of the moon.
Abu Zahra stated that despite this occultation, this event appears as a beautiful conjunction in the Arab world's sky, as the moon appears very close to Arcturus. Arcturus is a first-magnitude star and one of the brightest stars in the sky. Arcturus consists of a binary star system in which two stars orbit each other, but they appear as a single star due to their great distance from Earth. He pointed out that occultations of stars behind the moon are of great importance for accurately determining star positions and improving the moon's orbital models. Planetary occultations also provide an opportunity to study the details of the moon's edge terrain, such as mountains and craters.
Abu Zahra further explained that during the night, the moon and Arcturus are observed moving westward as a result of Earth's rotation around its axis. The following night, the moon appears to be moving eastward, away from the star, reflecting its rotation around Earth.