Muscat: The skies above the Sultanate of Oman will witness a spectacular annual astronomical event today, as the sun reaches aphelion (its farthest point from the Sun) at 11:55 p.m., according to the Oman Society of Astronomy and Space (OSAS).
This is the farthest point that the Earth travels in its elliptical orbit around the sun, according to Oman time.
At this time, the distance between the Earth and the Sun is around 152,087,738 kilometers, a difference of nearly 5 million kilometers from the nearest point, known as perihelion.
Ibrahim Mohammed Al Mahrouqi, Deputy Chairman of the Oman Society for Astronomy and Space, explained that the phenomena of aphelion and perihelion are related to the nature of Earth's orbit around the sun, which is not circular but rather elliptical.
This causes the distance between the Earth and the Sun to fluctuate throughout the year.
Al Mahrouqi explained that, while the "aphelion" occurs this year on July 4, the "perihelion" will occur on January 3, 2026, when the Earth approaches the Sun at an estimated distance of approximately 147,099,894 kilometers.
Al Mahrouqi stated that OSAS continues to monitor and document these occurrences in order to raise astronomical awareness, simplify astronomical ideas, and connect them to our scientific and environmental reality.
