Sun passes directly overhead Holy Kaaba in phenomenon called “solar zenith”
The sun passed directly overhead the Holy Kaaba yesterday, Monday, in a phenomenon called “solar zenith,” which is the second and last occurrence this year above this holy site
According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), citing the Jeddah Astronomical Society, “The second culmination occurrs as the sun ‘apparently’ returns from the Tropic of Cancer heading southward towards the equator, aligning with the zenith and reaching an elevation of approximately 90 degrees.
This coincided with the noon call to prayer at Al-Masjid Al-Haram, causing the Kaaba’s shadow to disappear.”
Majed Abu Zahra, President of the Astronomical Society, explained that “the phenomenon of the sun culminating directly above the Kaaba is due to the tilt of Earth’s rotational axis at an angle of 23.5 degrees. This causes the sun to ‘apparently’ move between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, passing over the equator as the Earth orbits the sun once a year.”
He noted that “regions located at latitudes less than 23.5 degrees north or south experience this event twice a year, at different times depending on their latitude. This is characteristic of areas between the equator and the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.”
It is noted that the first solar culmination this year occurred in May 2024 during the sun’s apparent movement from the equator to the Tropic of Cancer. The sun will culminate again above the Kaaba in May of next year, 2025.
