Jaber S. Jum‘ah Al-Dossary
September 30, 2008
An accomplished poet, historian and astronomical and meteorological expert, Jaber Jum' ah joined the company in 1958.
He worked in the Public Relations Department Publications Division from 1978-89, reaching the position of general supervisor of publications. He retired in 1992 as amember of the Government Affairs Policy and Planning Staff. Jum'ah's brother, Saudi Aramco President and CEO Abdallah S. Jum'ah, said in amessage that he was active in imparting his weather, astronomical, historic, and literary contributions to the public and tome and the rest of his family at his bed side up to the last days of his life.
A story in the "Dial" column of The Arabian Sun on Oct. 19, 1988, offered some insights into Jum'ah's skills as an astronomer and weatherman. Arab News readers may have recognized
the Saudi astronomer featured in an Oct. 8 article as The Arabian Sun own resident weather watcher, Jaber S. Jum'ah. Jum'ah's interest in astronomy began in his childhood [in al-Khobar] with a developing fascination for the moon, stars and their positions. His interest grew into a fullfledged hobby as he became older and … read extensively on the subject.
According to Jum'ah's, astronomy, unlike astrology, is a predictable and logical natural science that relies on intricate observations, mathematical calculations and physics. He notes that great astronomical works were passed toWestern Civilization by Arab astronomers during the Golden Age of Islam.
Lately, Jum'ah's has been particularly interested in the sky because of the close proximity of Mars. On Sept. 22, in was 58.8 million km. closer to Earth than it has been in the last 17 years. The next time they will be anywhere near that close will be Aug. 27, 2003. The nearness of the two planets has affected the rise and ebb of water in the Gulf, Jum'ah's said.
Al-Ayyam Al-Jamilah