Today's Edition
A.SREENIVASA REDDY (ABU DHABI)
An Abu Dhabi-based observatory captured a rare celestial phenomenon known as the inferior conjunction of Venus on Sunday.
Al Khatim Observatory, located in the desert between Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, shared images of Venus crescent on X.
In a post, the Observatory stated that a team of observers, led by Mohammad Odeh, its director, successfully captured the crescent of Venus at 9.18am on March 23, 2025, during its conjunction in broad daylight.
A conjunction occurs when two celestial bodies appear close together in the sky. An inferior conjunction of Venus happens when the planet moves between the Sun and Earth in its orbit.
“Venus always appears in phases similar to those of the Moon (New Moon, Crescent, First Quarter, Gibbous, and Full Moon),” the Observatory said in its post.
In theory, Venus should be directly between the Earth and the Sun during an inferior conjunction, appearing as a small black dot in front of the Sun’s disc.
However, due to the tilt of Venus’ orbit, the planet was 8.4 degrees away from the Sun at the time of conjunction. “As a result, it appeared as a slender crescent,” the Observatory explained.
The phenomenon was captured using the observatory’s main telescope, which has a 14-inch aperture.
Cloudy and rainy weather posed a significant challenge to the observation. However, the Observatory said: “The phenomenon was successfully captured for a few minutes through a gap in the clouds.”
Apart from Odeh, the observation team included Khalfan Al Nuaimi, Osama Ghannam, Anas Mohammed, and Sameh Al Ashi.
Al Khatim Observatory is a fully remote and robotic observatory operated by the International Astronomical Center and was established in January 2021. It is situated approximately 50 kilometres from Abu Dhabi. It is registered with the Minor Planet Center of the International Astronomical Union
