The fifty-day winter period begins on Sunday, inaugurating this season with Saad al-Dhahab, according to the popular tradition in Jordan and the surrounding regions, as stated by Ammar Al-Sakaji, the president of the Jordanian Astronomical Society.
He said, "After Saad al-Dhahab, the periods follow one another consecutively; Saad Bala', then Saad as-Saud, then Saad al-Akhbiya (or al-Khabaya), thus continuing the fifty-day period until the moment of the spring equinox at 5:45 pm on Friday, March 20, 2026 according to Jordan time."
"The Arabs divided this period, with notable intelligence, into four periods, as if the ancestors had drawn a climatic map in the language of tales, welcoming the fifty days of winter... and welcoming Saad, even if it slaughters," according to Al-Sakaji.
He added, "As it came in the folk heritage: the renown is for the forty-day period, and the action is for February, indicating the severity of the cold, and Saad al-Dhahab is considered the most intense and the one most connected to memory, lasting twelve and a half days,"
Al-Sajji said, "In the folk narrative, Saad is portrayed as a leader of the caravan, who challenged the harsh winter, slaughtering his camel to survive the freezing cold and severe cold, and some of his companions followed him; those who slaughtered their camels, warmed with their fat, and covered with their hides, survived the storm, and those who disagreed met destruction, and as it was said: Those who killed were not slain, and those who did not kill were slain."
From the astronomical perspective, within the Arab stellar calendar or known as the science of weather phenomena, the entry of Saad al-Dhahab coincides with the rise of a star bearing the same name, known as "Dabah Star" as listed in the astronomical atlases of the International Astronomical Union, or by its scientific name "Beta Capricorni", one of the most prominent stars of the Capricorn constellation.
Al-Sakaji added that this star appears to the observer as a single point of light, yet modern telescopes reveal it as a complex binary star system, consisting of two main stars orbiting in a quiet gravitational dance for millions of years, the most prominent component being this yellow giant; a star that has exceeded the nuclear stability phase and begun expanding, glowing with a faint golden color, and this system is approximately 330 light years away from Earth.
He continued, "With the dawn of these days, the star Saad al-Dhahab rises at a low altitude not exceeding eight degrees above the eastern/southern horizon of Jordan at the moment of sunrise on Sunday, in addition to its angular proximity to the sun's glow, since its angular distance from it does not exceed about nine degrees, and its magnitude is about 3, which makes spotting it with the naked eye difficult, particularly in areas affected by light pollution, yet it remains possible in deserts and rural areas with suitable observation conditions."
For astronomy enthusiasts, Al-Sakaji clarified that the difficulty turns into a pleasure; using binoculars or small telescopes, one can capture this "yellow giant" as it silently announces the start of one of the winter phases, noting that "a rare moment occurs where the folk timing meets the precise astronomical calculations, and the Astronomical Society has spotted this star in previous years during this period."
He added, "But today, with the advancement of sciences and technology, weather knowledge no longer relies solel...
