Doha, May 14 (QNA) - The Qatar Calendar House announced that Venus, the brightest planet in our solar system, will reach its closest point to the sun (perihelion) on Friday, Dhul-Qi'dah 28, 1447 AH, corresponding to May 15, 2026.

Venus will be approximately 107 million kilometers from the sun, compared with roughly 109 million kilometers at its farthest point on Jan. 22, 2026.

Dr. Bashir Marzouk, an astronomer at the Qatar Calendar House, stated that residents of Qatar will be able to observe Venus at its closest point to the sun with the naked eye above the western horizon after sunset, and before the planet sets in Qatar’s sky at 8:36pm local Doha time.

Venus reaches its closest point to the sun (perihelion) approximately every 225 days. The last perihelion occurred on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025, and the next perihelion will occur on Friday, Dec. 25, 2026.

Venus, like the other planets in the solar system orbits the sun in an elliptical orbit with two foci, with the sun located at one of them; it therefore reaches a farthest point in its orbit, known as aphelion, and a closer point, known as perihelion.

Venus is the second closest planet to the sun, with an average distance of 108 million kilometers. It is the brightest planet in our solar system and the third brightest celestial object after the sun and the moon.

Venus and Uranus rotate around their axes in the opposite direction to all other planets in our solar system; both Venus and Uranus rotate from east to west, while other planets rotate from west to east. (QNA)