Saudi Arabia’s Mecca to Witness Rare Astronomical Phenomenon

Thursday evening, Saudi Arabia’s Mecca will witness a rare astronomical phenomenon, occurs for the first time, as the full moon will align directly above the Kaaba, according to astronomers.

On Thursday at 12:43 am local KSA time, the People of Mecca are going to see, with naked eyes, the full moon appearing vertically above the Grand Mosque.

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“The moon will rise with sunset from the northern/northeastern horizon, and set in the northern/northwestern horizon, meaning that it will simulate the high path of the summer sun after six months across the night sky,” President of the Jeddah Astronomy Association Majed Abu Zahira said.

“In the north of the Arctic Circle, the moon stays 24 hours above the horizon, like the midnight sun in the summer," Abu Zahira added.

The full moon will align with the Kaaba at 12:43:34 after midnight local KSA time (09:43:34 pm GMT) at an altitude of 89.57.46 degrees and its disk fully illuminated by 99.9 percent at a distance of 381.125 km from the earth.

“The moon will remain visible in the sky for the rest of the night until it sets with the rise of the Friday sun,” he stated.

He also asserted that the celestial phenomenon can be used to find the direction of Qiblah (direction toward the Kaaba) in a simple way from several regions around the world, stressing that Muslims, who are in geographical locations far from the Grand Mosque, can rely on the direction of the moon that points to Mecca “in a manner comparable to the accuracy of smart phone applications.”