Holy Kaaba Aligns with Sun on Thursday in Rare Astronomical Event
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MAKKAH, May 25 (Saudi Arabia Breaking News) — The sun will align directly over the Holy Kaaba on Thursday, May 28, at about 12:18 p.m. Makkah time, in an astronomical phenomenon used to determine the Qibla direction.
Jeddah Astronomy Society Director Majed Abu Zahra described the alignment as a precise astronomical event that allows people to verify geographical and astronomical calculations without complex instruments.
The phenomenon occurs when the sun reaches its apparent position directly above the Holy Kaaba, causing its rays to fall almost perpendicular to it.
At the moment of alignment, shadows cast by vertical objects near Makkah nearly disappear as sunlight falls almost directly on the surface.
The event occurs twice a year as the sun appears to move between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn due to Earth’s axial tilt of about 23.44 degrees, allowing it to pass over Makkah’s latitude once while moving northward and once while moving southward.
