Earth to reach its aphelion in Oman skies on Thursday

Muscat: The skies of the Sultanate of Oman will show a unique annual astronomical phenomenon today, as the sun reaches aphelion (farthest point from the Sun) at 11:55 p.m, according to Oman Society of Astronomy and Space (OSAS).

By Oman time, this represents the farthest point that the Earth reaches in its elliptical orbit around the sun.

The distance between the Earth and the sun at this moment stands at approximately 152,087,738 kilometres, a difference of nearly 5 million kilometres from the closest point known as perihelion.

Ibrahim Mohammed Al Mahrouqi, Deputy Chairman of Oman Society for Astronomy and Space, said that the phenomena of aphelion and perihelion are linked to the nature of the Earth’s orbit around the sun, which is actually not perfectly circular but rather elliptical in shape.

This causes the distance between the Earth and the sun to keep changing throughout the year.

Al Mahrouqi explained that, while the “aphelion” occurs this year on 4 July, while “perihelion” will happen on 3 January 2026, when the Earth approaches the Sun at a distance estimated to be approximately 147,099,894 kilometres.

Al Mahrouqi pointed out that OSAS continues to monitor and document these phenomena with the aim of raising astronomical awareness, simplifying astronomical concepts and linking them to our scientific and environmental reality. -ONA