Mecca sky sees second lunar alignment over Kaaba in 2026

The sky over Mecca will witness the second lunar alignment above the Kaaba this year on Monday morning, as the moon comes very close to the zenith directly above the holy site—a phenomenon visible to the naked eye.

Majed Abu Zahra, president of the Jeddah Astronomical Society, said the moon will reach its highest point at 7:50:31 a.m. local time, at an altitude of about 89.87 degrees. Its center will be just 7 minutes and 43 arcseconds from the zenith, appearing almost directly overhead the Kaaba.

He explained that this phenomenon occurs as the moon’s declination nears Mecca’s latitude while crossing the local meridian. The moon will be in a waning crescent phase, illuminated at 31.8 percent, and about 372,253 kilometers from Earth’s center.

Abu Zahra added that the presence of the sun in the sky will make the moon less visible compared to nighttime alignments. He noted that the first lunar alignment this year occurred on February 28, about seven months ago. The moon’s position can serve as a visual guide to Mecca’s direction where it is above the horizon, though precise calculations must account for lunar parallax, and more accurate methods exist for determining the qibla.

The timing and altitude of lunar alignments change due to the moon’s orbital motion and shifting celestial coordinates, making this event an opportunity to better understand the relationship between the moon’s movement, Earth’s rotation, the meridian, and latitude.