International Astronomical Center

Tuesday 05 July 2005:

• Iraq: ICOP member Mr. Bacil Moudhaffar said: "I would like to inform you that waning crescent was seen between dust breaks at about 5:15 am on Tue. 05/07/2005 from Baghdad (44:19:16E, 33:19:23N). Moon Alt. about 6 deg. Moon Azi. about 61 deg. east from north. Horn shape (from 5 o'clock to nearly 8 o'clock)."

• USA: ICOP member Mr. Jim Stamm said:

  Location     = Tucson, Arizona (USA)
     Longitude = 110.9645 W
     Latitude  =  32.4204 N
     Elevation = 842 meters
     Time Zone = -7.0 hour
  
  Surface conditions at time of sighting at
     Tucson Airport:
     Temperature          =    25 degrees Celsius
     Dew Point            =   0.5 degrees Celsius
     Atmospheric Pressure =  1009 mb
  
  Crescent first observed through 9x63 binoculars:
     Time      =   04:50 LT
     Altitude  =   4 degrees (As soon as it rose over the ridge)
  
  Crescent first observed with the naked eye:
  
  No matter how hard I tried, even with trees framing the Moon, I could  not see the crescent with naked eyes.  
  However, I am sure that others  would have seen it easily.
  
  Final observation with binoculars:
     Time      =   05:00 LT
     Altitude  =   6 degrees
  

  
  Stamm added: "Apparently my 10x digital is better than my eye"

So far, the earliest sighting of the crescent was on Thursday 07 July 2005 from Saudi by ICOP member Mr. Saleh Al-Saab.

Wednesday 06 July 2005:

• Saudi Arabia: ICOP member Mr. Saleh Al-Saab mentioned that he was not able to see the crescent neither by naked eye nor by binoculars, and the weather was hazy.

• USA:

  • ICOP member Dr. Muhammad Hafiz said: "I tried to observe the Hilaal on Wednesday, 6th July, 2005 after sunset from Opa Locka, Florida, USA. No Hilaal was observed despite clear skies."

  • ICOP member Mr. Gulamabbas Khakoo said: "Unable to sight the crescent on Wed. July 6, 2005. The sky was clear."

  • ICOP member Dr. John Caldwell mentioned that he was not able to see the crescent neither by naked eye nor by binoculars, and the weather was hazy.

  • ICOP member Mr. Jim Stamm said:

    Location     = Tucson, Arizona (USA)
       Longitude = 110.9645 W
       Latitude  =  32.4204 N
       Elevation = 842 meters
       Time Zone = -7.0 hour
    
    Surface conditions at 19:55:
       Tucson Airport:
       Temperature          =  99 degrees Fahrenheit
       Dew Point            =  34 degrees Fahrenheit
       Atmospheric Pressure =  29.92 in. Hg
    
    Topocentric and local time values from “Accurate Times”:
       Sunset (at sea level)  =  19:40
       Moonset (at sea level)  =  20:21
       Time from new moon at   19:50   =  16hr.  10min.
       Moon lag time                   =  42    minutes
       Relative Altitude               =  7.44  degrees
       Elongation from sun             =  7.52 degrees
       Crescent width                  =  8 arcseconds
       Illumination                    =  .43  percent
    
    I was NOT able to see the crescent, even through a telescope.
    
    I had set my scope the night before, and after a couple of tweaks it  was dead on the new Moon’s location for 19:40 Wednesday evening.   Well, it was so clear and dry that I got anxious, and thought I might  be able to see the crescent much earlier.  So I used my daylight  technique and searched in vain for a couple of hours.  I discovered  that my drive quit (overheated in the 108 degree temperature?), so I  had to resort to scanning (focus was checked) all the way into a tree  with no luck.  We used the 9x63s to search during the last 15 minutes.
    
    Observer(s):       Jim Stamm;  John Polacheck 
    

Thursday 07 July 2005:

• Malaysia: ICOP member, Mr. Kassim Bahali said: "The hilal was not seen because the western sky was totally cloudy and heavy haze."

• Singapore: ICOP member, Mr. Muhammad Ridhwan Ridhwan said: "According to the calender made by the Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (Muis). stated in the calender, the first month of Jamadil Thani falls on 8 of July 2005."

• UAE: ICOP member Mr. Mohammad Odeh said: "Unable to see the crescent neither by naked eye nor by 7X50 binoculars, the western horizon was extremely hazy to the extent that Venus was barley visible by naked eye!"

• Saudi Arabia: ICOP member Mr. Saleh Al-Saab said: "It was easy to see the crescent by binoculars (25) minutes after sunset."

• Iraq: ICOP member Mr. Bacil Moudhaffar said: " I would like to inform you that Crescent was seen on Thu. 7/7/2005 at about 20:35 until about 20:55 with binocular (8*30) form Baghdad (44.321E, 33.323N). Horn shape from nearly from 4 to 6 o'clock, first seen at left of sunset. Sunset at 20:15"

• Algeria: ICOP member Mr. Bankih Kacem said: "Jumadal II 1426 crescent was observed by only one person with binoculars. Four persons were present in this observation at Merkich station. The western horizon was partly cloudy and the weather was completely hazy."

• Zanzibar: ICOP member Mr. Hamza Rijal said: "The Jamadul Thani was sighted in Zanzibar. Unfortunately I was not among those who sighted but an officiall anoucment from Mufti Office today is the 1 st of Jamadul Thani. We pray to Almighty Allah to be among those who get a chance to welcome Ramadhan in two month time"

• Nigeria: ICOP member Mr. Muhammed Ya'sin Qamardeen said: "All reports from observation stations within our network in Nigeria indicate negative sighting. Dr. Uthman Dukku from Bauchi told me over phone discussion that there is Raining at Bauchi, likewise Brother Yusuf from Yola in Adamawa state reported raining situation. Here in Lagos There is total cloudy sky, so perharp the crescent is laughing behind the cloud. Meanwhile after counting the month of Jumadal Awwal to thirty, the NSCIA authority commenced the Jumadal Awwal today 07 July 2005."

• South Africa: ICOP member Dr. Abdurrazak Ebrahim said: "The Jamadith Thani Hilaal was sighted from Signal Hill, Cape Town this Thursday (7/7/2005) evening. The Hilaal was first sighted by binoculars and then by naked-eye at local time 18h20. The official first day in Southern Africa will be Friday, 8 July 2005"

• Germany: ICOP member Mr. Gerhard Ahmad Kaufmann mentioned it was cloudy.

• USA:

  • ICOP member Dr. Muhammad Hafiz said: "The Jamada Al Thani Hilaal was sighted on Thursday, 7th July, 2005 after sunset from Opa Locka, Florida, USA. The Hilaal was sighted at 8:55 PM local time."

  • ICOP Member, Ms. Mary Singer said: "I saw the new lunar crescent this evening at 8:56pm through my 10x50 binoculars. At 8:58pm the crescent was visible to the unaided eye. Very thin, about 22 degrees above the horizon. Horns pointed to the left, going from about 1:00pm to 7:00pm. Crescent slightly thicker and brighter in the middle. Venus was also visible, a little bit higher than the moon, about two of my fists to the left of the moon. Mary Singer. Spokane, WA."

  • ICOP member, Mr. Gulamabbas Khakoo said: "Sighted the crescent for the month of Jamadi-ul-Thani Today Tuesday, July 7, 2005 local time 8:20pm here in Long Beach, California. The sighting was with naked eye and very easy. I took some photos." Below is a sample.
    

Thursday 07 July 2005 :-

1. Saudi Arabia

Friday 08 July 2005 : -

1. Malaysia
2. Singapore
3. Jordan
4. Zanzibar
5. South Africa
6. USA
7. Guyana