The sun will be perpendicular to the Holy Kaaba tomorrow...the second and last perpendicular in the year 2024

Weather of Arabia - The sky of Mecca will witness tomorrow, Monday, Muharram 9, 1446, corresponding to July 15, 2024 , the second and last sun perpendicular for this year to the Holy Kaaba.

The Astronomical Society in Jeddah stated in a report that this perpendicularity occurs with the sun’s “apparent” return from the Tropic of Cancer towards the equator, where it is in the middle of the meridian and the sun is at an altitude of approximately 90 degrees, coinciding with the noon call to prayer in the Grand Mosque at 12:27 pm local time. (9:27 AM GMT), which leads to the disappearance of the shadow of the Holy Kaaba.

On Monday, Muharram 9, 1446, corresponding to July 15, the sky of Mecca will witness the sun “perpendicular” to the Holy Kaaba at 12:27 pm local time, coinciding with the noon call to prayer in the Grand Mosque, where the meridian shadow becomes zero and the shadow of the Holy Kaaba disappears, which is the second and final perpendicular in the year 2024. pic.twitter.com/Jwfx8KXWpM

- Jeddah Astronomical Society (@JASsociety) July 14, 2024

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The report explained that the reason for the sun's perpendicular phenomenon is due to the Earth's axis of rotation being tilted at an angle of 23.5 degrees, which leads to the sun moving "apparently" between the Tropics of Cancer to the north and Capricorn to the south, passing through the equator as the Earth rotates around the sun once a year. Areas located at latitudes less than 23.5 degrees north or south witness this event twice a year at different times, depending on the latitude of the place.

This astronomical phenomenon is useful for determining the direction of the Qibla, especially in areas far from Mecca in the Arab and Islamic countries. By using a straight piece installed vertically and observing its shadow at the moment of perpendicularity, the direction towards Mecca can be known with an accuracy equivalent to the accuracy of digital applications for smartphones.

The phenomenon of perpendicularity is also used to calculate the circumference of the Earth in simple ways in geometry, and indicates the sphericity of the planet Earth.

It is noteworthy that the first perpendicular to the sun this year occurred last May during the apparent movement of the sun and its move from the equator to the Tropic of Cancer, and it is expected that the perpendicular to the Holy Kaaba will be repeated in May next year 2025.

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