International Astronomical Center

So far, the earliest sighting of the crescent was on Monday 19 March 2007 from USA.

Monday 19 March 2007:

• Indonesia:

  1. Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Ma'rufin Sudibyo said: "The hilaal sighting had done in Kebumen, Central Java, Indonesia (position 7 deg 40 min S 109 deg 38 min E, mean height 21 m above sea level, time zone: GMT + 7), and March 19th 2007 at Maghrib time. Although the weather was clear, the western sky was partially closed by the cumulus clouds until altitude of nearly 10 degree above western horizon. We used naked eye and helped by calibrated-Siemens C45 internal clock for time guideline. We also used a table that contained Moon altitude versus local time, which derived from moon Calculator v6.0 (topocentric condition, geometric sunset/moonset and no refraction). Sunset has predicted at 17:50 local time, where Moon have altitude 2,20 degree, relative azimuth 3,81 degree, elongation 4,43 degree, diameter 33,36 arc min, crescent width 0,05 arc min, Moon age 8 hours after conjunction, phase 0,19 % and visual magnitude -4,4. The moonset has predicted at 17:59 local time. The sunset point at western horizon hasn't identified because hidden by cloud, also around the area where hilaal located. When Venus (visual magnitude -4,0) was seen at 18:09 local time, situation hasn't changed."

  2. Not Seen: ICOP member, Mr. Susiknan Azhari said: "The weather is good, but we can't see the hilal although moonset after sunset. In Yogyakarta (Latitude = -7,8 Longitude = 110,35) Conjungtion (Ijtima') = Monday, 19 March 2007. Time : 09.44.19 (LMT/WIB). Altitude/Irtifa'= +02 deg 00 min 26 sec. Muhammadiyah Calendar and Taqwim Standar Indonesia (Indonesian Ministry of Religion Affairs) announced that 1 Rabiul awal 1428 H is corresponding to Tuesday March 20, 2007."

  3. Cloudy: ICOP member, Mr. Mutoha MMC said: "The crescent was not seen anywhere in Indonesia because the Western sky was cloudy and the moon altitude very low (2°18') at sunset. According to Indonesian civil calendars who used the "imkanurrukyat criterion", the first day of Rabiul Awwal 1428 AH begins on Tuesday, 20 March 2007.
     ICOP Members Observing the Crescent in Indonesia
     
     By Mutoha MMC on Monday 19 March 2007

• Iran: Hazy: ICOP member Mr. Majid Marzani said: "Seeing the crescent by Naked eye, binoculars and telescope was tried, but it was not seen." Mr. Marzani added that it was hazy and partly cloudy.

• Iraq: Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Bacil Moudhaffar mentioned that he was not able to see the crescent by naked eye or by binocular, and the sky was clear.

• Yemen: Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Saleh Belfakih mentioned that he didn't see the crescent by naked eye, and it was hazy and partly cloudy.

• UAE: Hazy: ICOP member Mr. Mohammad Odeh said: "I tried to observe the crescent using 7X50 binocular, but I didn't see the crescent, knowing that I was observing from the sea-level and the sky was hazy, where the Sun itself disappeared minutes before the actual sunset time."

• Kuwait: Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. Hussain Khushaish said: "I could not sight the crescent even with 20*60 binocular. The western horizon was cloudy upto 3~4 degrees. Venus was seen before sunset."

• Saudi:
  1. Hazy: ICOP member Mr. Saleh Al-Saab mentioned that he was not able to see the crescent by binoculars, and it was hazy.

  2. Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Edrees Al Shubbar said: "Three of the safwa sighting group tried to sight the crescent [by naked eye] but where not able to spot it although Venus was so clear to all at the time of sun set"

• Algeria:

  1. Hazy: ICOP member Mr. Bankih Kacem said: "The weather this afternoon in Ghardaia was very hazy that 20 mn before sunset (18:34) the SUN wasn't visible. 12 persons have tried to observe Rabi Awal 1428 crescent but it was not seen."

  2. Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Houcine Chikh Aissa said: "(03) observers were present in N'tissa station with one binoculars. The new crescent of rabee awwal was not seen by naked eyes and by a Binocular, member of the club CHIKH AMMI SAID AMATEUR OF ASTRONOMIE. Venus was seen by naked eyes."

• Morocco: Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Othman Fadli mentioned that he did not see the crescent by naked eye, and the sky was clear.

• Tanzania: Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Zaffar Sheriff said: "No attempt was made to search for a 13 hour crescent, with 5 degrees altitude. Our masjid declared 1st Rabiul Awwal to correspond with 21st March 2007.

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

• UK:
  1. Partly Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. Muhammad Afifi al-Akiti from Oxford said: "Negative sighting in Oxford. Moonsighting was attempted at the end of the 29th day of Safar (Monday, 19 March 2007). The horizon was partly cloudy and the crescent could not be sighted. We received the report from Fez, Morocco of negative sightings there despite clear skies and the Moroccan authority declared that the month of Safar is to complete its 30 days. This news and the expectation that there are no positive sightings east to our longitude are sufficient for us to complete this month like Morocco and the first of Rabi' Awwal in the UK should fall on the day after tomorrow, Wednesday, the 21st of March."

  2. Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Maqsood Fazel said: "Last night I attempted to see the new crescent at around 6:50pm to 7:10pm in Manchester, UK. And as per predictions I was unable to. the sky had patchy clouds but was very clear in places, especially in the West. I could see Venus very easily."

• USA:

  1. Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. Javad Torabinejad from (Blacksburg, VA) said: "Due to cloudy sky, this evening (Monday, March 19, 2007) no sighting was attempted."

  2. Seen: ICOP member, Mr. Gulamabbas Khakoo from (Buena Park, CA) said: "Sighted the crescent of Rabi -ul - Awwal here in Buena Park, California. Local Time 7:23pm on Monday, March 19, 2007, with naked eye. It was clear and easy to sight.
     Weather Condition as follows:
     Condition: Clear / 61 Deg.F.
     Sunset: 7:03pm
     Humidity: 65%
     Wind: WNW at 6 mph
     Pressure: 30.01 in.
     Visibility: 10.0 miles"
     

  3. Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. Milad Ali Ershaghi from (Alta Loma, CA) said: "After praying Salat-ul-Maghrib, I attempted to sight the moon. The weather was overcast in Alta Loma/Rancho Cucamonga, and clouds had completely obstructed the horizon, preventing anything from being seen. There were a few stars visible high up in the sky - however, much higher than where the moon would be expected to be seen. I visited Upland, Claremont, La Verne, and San Dimas, but in none of these cities was I able to see the moon. I continued looking until 8:07 PM, the moonset time obtained from the US Naval Observatory's Astronmical Applications Department website, and then returned home."

  4. Seen: ICOP member Mr. Abdul Rashid Abdullah said: "I was only visiting in the area. I was driving west bound on Interstate 10 towards Los Angeles and had just left the Palm Springs area when I first noticed the hilal. It was very faint so I looked away and then back again. I was able to observe it for at least 10 minutes while I was driving. The exact details I provided may not be so exact as I was traveling and didn't have an opportunity to write anything down, however, I did take note that the time was around 7:10 PM local time."

• Guyana: Cloudy: ICOP member Dr. Muhammad Hafiz said: "The Imam and members of Rose Hall Town Masjid and Islamic Center tried to observe the Hilaal after sunset on Monday, 19th March, 2007 in Guyana. The Hilaal was not seen due to clouds on the horizon."

Tuesday 20 March 2007:

• Australia: Partly Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. Afroz Ali mentioned that he was able to see the crescent by naked eye.

• Iran: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Alireza Mehrani said: "This Wednesday is the 1st day of Farvardin (the first month of Iranian Calendar) in 1386(S.H). This day is the 1st day of spring season which is called "Noruz" (Noruz = New Day). Noruz has been celebrated in Iran since thousands years. Many celebrations have been held in the different seasons of a year by our ancestors which Noruz has been the most important. I congratulate the coming spring and the Iranian New Year to all of the nature lovers and also Iranian people around the world."
  Rabee Awwal Crescent from Iran By Alireza Mehrani on Tuesday 20 March 2007
  (Click on the Photo for Larger View)

• Pakistan: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Shahid Qureshi said: "New moon has been sighted with naked eye here in Swabi, Pakistan on Tuesday, 20 March 2007. Hence first Rabi-ul-awal falls on Wednesday, 21 March. Mild-un-Nabi will be on Sunday, 1 April 2007."

• Iraq: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Bacil Moudhaffar said: "Seen easily between clouds break."

• Kuwait: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Hussain Khushaish said: "I could sight the crescent first with binocular at 17:46 then with naked eyes at 17:51 till 19:13 and with bino till 19:20. Our local sunset was at 17:59. The western horizon was partly cloudy with some haze. Venus was seen with naked eyes at 17:44."

• Saudi: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Edrees Al Shubbar said: "The sighting group tried to sight the crescent on 19 March 2007 but no positive reults, however we tried again on the 20th March 2007 and was successful sighting of the crescent."
  Rabee Awwal Crescent from Saudi
  
  By Edrees Al Shubbar on Tuesday 20 March 2007

• UK: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Muhammad Dar mentioned that he was able to see the crescent by naked eye.

• Germany: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Gerhard Ahmad Kaufmann said: "I wasn't prepared for any observation today, as the sky was cloudy most of the time. So I was very surprised when I looked unintentionally in the sky this evening more than an hour after sunset, and saw a very beautiful crescent with a yellowish hue, lying nearly horizontally over the western horizon. My whole family took a glance at this sight. I could have observed the crescent much earlier if I had tried, but so I only looked at it for a couple of minutes and did not notice any further observation data."

• Nigeria: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Muhammed Ya'sin Qamardeen said: "The new Hilal of Rabiul awwal is easily sight this evening at western horizon just below shinning VENUS whichis located at about 30 degree above horizon. Yesterday, report indicated negative sighting from various observation post here in Nigeria."

• South Africa: Seen: ICOP member Dr. Abdurrazak Ebrahim mentioned that the crescent was seen by naked eye.

• USA: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Ronald Leuschen from (Antioch, CA) mentioned that he was able to see the crescent by nake eye.

• Canada: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Waleed Elmarimi from (Surrey, BC) said: "I've been waiting a few months for the rain to stop so I can try to see the new crescent. It was worth the wait, very beautiful. Both horns were almost pointing up (Equinox) and the crescent was roughly 25 degrees above the horizon and with an azimuth of 260 degrees roughly."

Tuesday 20 March 2007:

1. Indonesia
2. Yemen
3. Saudi
4. UAE
5. Jordan
6. Egypt

Wednesday 21 March 2007:

1. Pakistan
2. Morocco
3. Tanzania
4. South Africa
5. UK

The geocentric conjunction (Geocentric New Moon) will occur Inshalla on (Monday 19 March 2007) at 02:43 UT.

Sunday 18 March 2007:

• Indonesia: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Ma'rufin Sudibyo said: "The waning crescent sighting had done in Kebumen, Central Java, Indonesia (position 7 deg 40 min S 109 deg 38 min E, mean height 21 m above sea level, time zone: GMT + 7), and March 18th 2007 at Shubuh time. At that time the weather was clear and the sky was very perfect, moreover The Milky Way was seen easily. We used naked eye in observation and helped by digital camera Sony Cybershot DSC U-20 2 mega pixel without zoom for made several pictures. We also used internal clock in Siemens C45, calibrated with international time reference system served by the Telkom Co. Ltd for time guideline. We also helped by a table, which contained Moon altitude versus local time that derived from Moon Calculator v6.0 (with topocentric situation, geometric sunrise/moonrise and no refraction). This software also predicted that sunrise would happen at 05:49 local time, where Moon have altitude 14,53 degree, relative azimuth 5,05 degree, elongation 15,4 degree, diameter 33,12 arc min, crescent width 0,6 arc min, Moon age 28 hours before conjunction, phase 2,03 % and visual magnitude -5,6. Moonrise would happen at 04:44 local time. The waning crescent had seen although obscure when we was started the observation at 05:54 local time. The crescent was seen clearly since 04:58 until 05:20, when it obscured again and really unseen at 05:30 local time. Orientation of the crescent was 4 - 9. Finally, the Sun disk had started visible above eastern horizon at 05:49 local time exactly."

• Iran:
  1. Seen: ICOP member Mr. Alireza Mehrani said:

     Location: Kuh Sofe, Esfahan Iran
     Latitude: 32° 36' N
     Longitude: 51° 39' E
     Elevation: 1789 meters
     Time zone: +3.5
     

     (MoonCal 6.0 Dr. Monzur Ahmed, Topo, Refrac OFF)

     Moonrise: 05:38:08 LT
     Sunrise-Moonrise: 0h 32m 32s
     

     Crescent first observed through 15x80 binoculars:
     Time: 05:45:00 LT
     Moon Altitude: 0° 33' 25"
     Sun Altitude: -(6° 14' 33")
     Elongation: 13° 47' 56"
     Relative Azimuth: 12° 01' 45"
     Phase: 1.56%
     Width: 0.48m
     Arc Length: 105° (10-6.5)
     

     Crescent Last observed through 15x80 binoculars:
     Time: 06:08:20 LT
     Moon Altitude: 5° 16' 59"
     Sun Altitude: -(1° 19' 31")
     Elongation: 13° 35' 17"
     Relative Azimuth: 11° 53' 12"
     Phase: 1.52%
     Width: 0.46m
     Arc Length: 75° (9.5-7)
     

  2. Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. Majid Marzani said: " The eastern horizon was cloudy. Thin clouds be the reason for not seeing the crescent."

• USA: Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Jim Stamm said:

  Location = Tucson, Arizona (USA) - Mt. Lemmon
  Longitude = 110.69 W
  Latitude = 32.4 N
  Elevation = 2210 meters
  Time Zone = -7.0 hours
  

  Surface conditions at time of first/last sighting at Tucson International Airport (805 m):
  Temperature = 8 degrees Celcius
  Relative Humidity = 39 percent
  Atmospheric Pressure = 1021 mb (sea level)
  

  Magnitude limit at 1 degree altitutde with 55 power in C-8 telescope, before onset of twilight = 8-9

  Topocentric and local time values from “Accurate Times”:
  Moonrise (at sea level) = 6:04
  Sunrise (at sea level) = 6:22
  Time from new moon at 6:14 = 14 hr. 53 min.
  Moon lag time = 18 minutes
  Relative Altitude = 3.71 degrees
  Elongation from sun = 7.36 degrees
  Crescent width = 8 arcseconds
  Illumination = .41 percent
  

  I was NOT able to see the crescent, even through a telescope. Haze was obvious. Even the rising sun was filtered enough to observe through the telescope.

  From my home, the mountain that I was on rises to about 7 degrees altitude in the east. When the sun pops out it is usually immediately extremely bright. Obviously this is because the thickness of the haze is much less.