Mercury adorns our sky and reaches its maximum eastern elongation on April 11.. What does that mean?

Weather of Arabia - The nights of the blessed month of Ramadan this year bear an opportunity to monitor a number of astronomical events that are enjoyable with the naked eye without the need for specialized astronomical tools, which reminds us of the greatness of God's creation in the universe, and among these events is the arrival of the planet Mercury at its maximum eastern elongation on Tuesday evening, so what It means that?

On Tuesday, April 11, the planet Mercury will be at its maximum eastern elongation, and it is 19.5 degrees from the sun, which means that it is the best time to view Mercury because it will be at its highest point on the horizon.

If you want to see the planet Mercury adorning our sky at night, all you have to do is go out to look at the sky on the evening of Tuesday, April 11, when we will see the small planet shining in a near-red color above the western horizon after sunset.

(Image source: Al Jazeera)

You can also see with your own eyes another astronomical event, which is the conjunction between Venus and the Pleiades star cluster, which is an open star cluster that contains hundreds of stars, but we can see about 7 of them lined up in the sky in a shape resembling a hook.

What does it mean for the planet to reach its maximum elongation?

Elongation is defined as the apparent angle between the sun and a planet, when measured from Earth.

The angle of elongation for the inner planets (the planets that lie before the earth in their distance from the sun (Mercury and Venus)) is less than 90 degrees, and the maximum values for the elongation of Mercury are between 18 degrees and 28 degrees, and Venus is between 45 degrees and 47 degrees.

The planet reaches the peak of its brightness at dawn before sunrise or in the evening after sunset when it is at its maximum elongation with the sun, and therefore the periods of maximum elongation are considered the best periods for observing and observing the planet, especially the planet Mercury, and because Venus has a greater angle of elongation than Mercury, so it can be seen for a longer period And in an easier way than Mercury of less elongation, according to Professor of Astronomy, Ashraf Tadros.

As for the outer planets, which are the planets that are located after the earth in their distance from the sun (Mars, Jupiter, etc.), they reach their maximum elongation when they are in the opposite state, that is, when the angle value is 180 degrees.