Doha: Qatari Calendar House (QCH) announced that Mercury will reach its maximum elongation with the sun this evening, where mercury will be at an angle of 27.3 arc degrees east of the sun center for the observer from the surface of the Earth.
Dr. Bashir Marzouk, a QCH astronomical expert said that the phenomenon of mercury reaching its maximum elongation with the sun is one of the important astronomical phenomena for the wonderful opportunity to observe Mercury from the Earth for a long period of time in the evening sky above the western horizon after today's sunset; this is because the sun's glare blurs Mercury most of the year due to the proximity of its orbit to the sun, knowing that after mercury reaches its maximum elongation with the sun, the angular distance between them will begin to decrease every day, which makes Mercury approach the sun more every day the sun rays blur it.
People of the State of Qatar will be able to observe and see the planet Mercury during this phenomenon above the western horizon with the naked eye in the evening sky after sunset on Saturday, and even before the date of sunset of Mercury; the date of Sunset will be at 6 pm, while the date of sunset of mercury will be at 7:10 pm, on Doha local time.
Dr. Bashir Marzouk added that the Mercury reached its maximum elongation on Friday, April 29, while it will reach it again on Wednesday, Dec. 21.
Elongation is defined as the maximum angle between the center of the sun and the center of the planet relative to the observer from the surface of the Earth, and it is divided into two parts, an eastern elongation and be above the western horizon, and a western elongation and be above the eastern horizon.
The planet Mercury is one of the group of inner planets in our solar system, and it is the smallest planet and the closest to the sun; it is an average distance of 58 million km from it, and Mercury completes its cycle around the sun in a period of 88 Earth days
