Sun to Align Over Kaaba on July 16th

The sun will pass directly above the Kaaba at the Grand Mosque in Makkah on Sunday, July 16^th, at 12:26 pm local time, astronomers have said.

Because of the Grand Mosque's position halfway between the equator and the Tropic of Cancer, the celestial phenomena known as "zero shadow" occurs there twice a year.

This happens as the sun crosses the meridian and reaches its zenith, or solar altitude, at roughly 90 degrees, just before the Duhr prayer in the Grand Mosque.

The Tropic of Cancer in the north and the Tropic of Capricorn in the south move yearly due to the tilt of the Earth's axis, according to Majed Abu Zahra, the director of the Jeddah Astronomical Society.

This transition occurs as the Earth rotates around the sun.

The qibla will be in the opposite direction of the stick's shadow if a wooden stick is buried vertically in the ground at 12:26 p.m. Riyadh time because the sun is directly overhead the Kaaba.

The same phenomenon occurred this year earlier in May and will occur again in May 2024.