KARACHI, Nov 10: It was nothing short of anticlimactic. The conjunction of the planets Mercury and Venus along with the star Antares definitely took place in the early evening skies above Karachi on Thursday.
Yet thick cloud cover ensured that astronomy enthusiasts would be deprived of the sight this time around.
As the Maghrib azaan echoed across the city this writer — along with many other stargazers across the metropolis one is sure —waited patiently for the grand celestial show to begin.
Yet astronomy buffs had to take a rain cheque, quite literally, as a slight drizzle began.
Twilight was fast turning to darkness, yet the clouds showed no intention of parting even for a slight glimpse of the conjunction.
“It was not a rare event, not exactly something we’d call eye candy”, Zain Ahmed, a founding member of the Karachi Astronomers’ Society, a group of amateur astronomers, told this writer in a consolatory tone. “Conjunctions such as these are quite common. Some conjunctions are rare, such as when several planets are seen together or form a shape”.
Mr Ahmed said the next major celestial event would be a total lunar eclipse scheduled for Dec 10.
As for the Leonids meteor shower scheduled for Nov 17-18, the astronomy enthusiast said this event would be difficult to view well in the metropolis due to light pollution.
However, it could be observed from ‘dark sky’ locations such as sparsely populated parts of Sindh and Balochistan.
