Al-Ahimar Disappears... Tuesday

The Kuwait Astronomical Association announced that the “period of Al-Himmar’s disappearance, also known as Khafuq or the setting of Al-Himmar, which witnesses the phenomenon of Al-Himmar’s strike due to weather fluctuations between autumn and winter, will begin on November 10 and last for 45 days.”

For his part, Adel Al-Saadoun, chairman of the board of directors of the Kuwait Astronomical Association and a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society of the United Kingdom, told Al-Rai that “one of the characteristics of this period is the frequent occurrence of cyclones, strong winds, and atmospheric instability across the Arabian Gulf, the Arabian Peninsula, the Arabian Sea, and the northern part of the Indian Ocean, where storms rage at sea, sometimes sinking ships and causing loss of life and property.”

He added, “In the past, captains of sailing vessels took this into account, especially those of dhows traveling across the Arabian Gulf to India, Africa, and the Gulf of Oman, due to the dangers they faced en route. They had a saying: ‘Al-Himmar has struck its blow,’ referring to the strength of the winds, which typically intensify in the evening.”

He continued, “This period is considered a transitional phase between autumn and winter. The winter Mubarraq period begins on December 7, during the Khafuq of Al-Himmar. According to the calculations of seafarers in the Darar calendar of the New Year era, Al-Himmar’s strike occurs in the first hundred days, and this period ends at the conclusion of the second forty-day interval.”

He noted that “Al-Himmar is the star Antares, the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius. It is called Al-Himmar because its color appears red; it is a variable star with fluctuating brightness, ranked 16th among the brightest stars in the sky, and is 10,000 times brighter than the Sun.” He pointed out that it is a giant star with a diameter of 950 million kilometers, 700 times larger than the Sun’s diameter, and located 550 light-years from Earth.