Holy Kaaba aligns with sun on Thursday in rare astronomical event

JEDDAH — The skies above Makkah will witness the phenomenon of the sun aligning directly over the Holy Kaaba on Thursday, May 28, at approximately 12:18 PM Makkah time. Jeddah Astronomy Society Director Eng. Majed Abu Zahra described the phenomenon as a precise astronomical event that attracts wide interest among those seeking to determine the Qibla direction. He noted that it provides a direct opportunity to verify geographical and astronomical calculations without complex instruments, occurring when the sun reaches its apparent position directly above the Holy Kaaba and its rays fall nearly perpendicular to it. Abu Zahra stated that at the moment of alignment, shadows cast by vertical objects in Makkah’s surroundings nearly disappear as sunlight falls almost perpendicularly on the surface. This phenomenon occurs twice annually as the sun moves apparently between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn due to earth’s axial tilt of approximately 23.44 degrees, allowing it to pass over Makkah’s latitude twice a year, once northward and once southward.