The conjunction of the Moon and Mars on December 31 – Science – Life

On the last day of 2021, on December 31, it was Luna s Mars They will give up on one last astronomical event that cannot be missed. Fortunately, it will not be necessary to have a special tool to estimate it. tell you.

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During the night of December 31 and in the early morning of the next day, January 1, 2022, it will appear that the Moon and Mars will be “kissing” thanks to a phenomenon known as conjunction.

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In this regard, Henry Thrupe, an astronomer in the Department of Planetary Sciences at NASA He explains: “You can imagine the solar system as a racetrack, where each of the planets is a runner in its own lane and the Earth toward the center of the stadium.”

The planets seem to “intersect” and align regularly with each other in the solar system. Specifically, astronomers call a close planetary conjunction, National Geographic says.

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This would have been the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter on August 12, 2 BC, and is seen from Arabia looking east before dawn.

Photo:

Stellarium

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However, conjugation occurs not only between planets, but also between planets starsLike the moon and other planets. This is the case for the event on the last day of the year.

During the night and early morning on Friday and Saturday, respectively, the moon can be seen ending its waning phase. It will be accompanied “very closely” in the skies of Mars and Antares. The latter is a giant star, the brightest in the constellation Scorpio.

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To see the pairing it is enough to look at the sky without using any instrument. Of course, it would be necessary for the sky to be clear.

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