Venus, the brightest planet, will reach Aphelion point (outermost point) in its orbit around the sun on Tuesday at 00:12am Doha local time where it will be at 0.73 Astronomical Unite (AU) from the sun's centre. The Astronomical Unit is the average distance between Sun and Earth (149.6million kilometre).
Qatar residents and all countries in the region can observe Venus at the outermost point from the sun with the naked eye, astronomers said.
Qatar residents don't need an astronomical telescope to see Venus at Aphelion over eastern horizon of Doha around dawn. Venus will appear as a bright star in the eastern sky for two hours and 39 minutes before sunrise. Venus will rise in Doha at 2:04am, while sunrise will take place at 4:43am.
Astronomers say the phenomenon is important as it's the best time for observing Venus at its outermost point over the Doha dawn sky. It also validates astronomical calculations.
Venus reaches Aphelion in its orbit around the sun every 225 days. It last reached the point on October 31, 2016, and will reach Aphelion in the future on January 23, 2018.
Venus and all other planets move around the sun in elliptical orbits. Its average distance from the sun is 108 million kilometres.
