International Astronomical Center

So far, the earliest sighting of the crescent -after sunset- was on Wednesday 25 February 2009 from USA (Christiansburg, VA) by ICOP member Mr. Javad Torabinejad.

Wednesday 25 February 2009:

• India:
  1. Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Mohammad Amin Haroon said: "This was the first time I published a news Item in Local News paper and announced that ICOP has arranged the Crescent Observation Programm at local oservatory of St. Alousius Science Center where a Telescope and Bionocular are fixed at the top of the Height at City with full dark Doom. Reading the paper few persons, Ladies and Childeren came to observe. We could see the VENUS planet very clearly that too was in beautiful Crescent like phase. Moon could not be seen which was just for 20 minutes present after Sunset as per observatory record. therefore the report is " NOT SEEN"."

  2. Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Mohammed Mohsin Khan said: "Today Wednesday 25 Feb 2009 / 29 Safar 1430 in India. Here in Mumbai Sunset was at 06:44 pm IST and Moonset was at 07:03 pm IST. so there was 19 mins difference Sky was clear but Crescent has not been sighted in Mumbai and in Most Parts of India. Official Moon-Sighting Committee of INDIA have officially announced that Thursday 26 February 2009 is the 30th Safar 1430 and 1st Rabi-ul-Awwal 1430 will fall on Friday 27 February 2009 and in India EID MILAD-UN-NABI s.a.w will be celebrated on Tuesday 10th March 2009 insha allah."

• Pakistan: Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Muhammad Sultan Alam said: "All members and friends of Jamia-tur-Rasheed tried but could not sight the moon all over Pakistan. Non sighting was also announced officially; hence Friday is 1st Rabee-ul-Awwal 1430 in Pakistan. After some days, inshaallah, a detailed report of this observation in Urdu will be available at www.esnips.com/web/moonnewsofjamiaturrasheed"

• Kuwait: Not Seen/Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. Hussain Khushaish said: "On Wednesday 25 Feb 2009 at Kuwait city I tried to see the crescent but I could not see it and it was cloudy at the western horizon."

• Saudi:
  1. Not Seen/Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. Bander Albotehy said: "The crescent was not seen in my area (Khobar). The western horizon was partially to fully cloudy."

  2. Not Seen/Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. Saleh Al-Saab said: "The western horizon was totally cloudy in the area (Onaizah)."

  3. Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Hani Dalee said: "I tried to spot the new crescent with this perfect sky and low latitude on a very high mountain , but failed the horizon is below the real by one degree, all clouds are down , I am just looking as if I were in an airoplane."

• Algeria:
  1. Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Houcine Chikh Aissa said: "23 observers were present in N'tissa station with one binocular (7*50) and one telescope. The new crescent of Rabee Awwal was not seen by naked eyes and by a Binocular and by a telescoup, the Sky Near The Western Horizon Was Superb but the crescent was not seen."

  2. Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Bankih Kacem said: "Two members of the amateur astronomy Assotiation AMNIR have tried to observe the crescent of RabiI 1430 from Bouamiyed without seeing it. The sky was clear with some haze on the western horizon. We Have used two binoculars (60x20 , 40x8)."

• Senegal: Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Ibrahima Thierno Lo mentioned that he was not able to see the crescent by naked eye and the sky was clear.

• Tanzania: Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Hamza Rijal said: "Wednesday 25 Feb 2009, in tiny island the crescent has not been sighted in tiny island of Zanzibar, we have completed 30 days for Safar and today 27 February is the first of Rabil Awal."

• Nigeria:
  1. Not Seen/Hazy: ICOP member Mr. Simwal Jibril mentioned that he was not able to see the crescent even by binocular.

  2. Not Seen/Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. Abdul Rasaq AbdulAzeez said: "I tried to seach the crescent but the weather in Ikorodu Lagos was cloudy and rainy."

  3. Not Seen/Cloudy: ICOP member Dr. Sani Mustapha said: "The new crescent was no sighted on the 29th of Safar. According to the Sunna the new crescent will be sighted the next day. Therefore Thursday the 30th day of Safar, day one of Rabi' Awwal begins after sunset."

• South Africa: Not Seen: ICOP member Dr. Abdurrazak Ebrahim mentioned that the crescent was not seen by telescope, and the sky was clear.

• Germany: Not Seen/Cloudy: ICOP Member Mr. Martin Elsaesser said: "High clouds and haze near the horizon made it impossible to see the very thin and difficult crescent, despite using 25x100 binoculars. It would have been very challenging anyway."

• Norway: Not Seen/Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. Milad Ali Ershaghi said: "Bismillah. I attempted to sight the new moon of Rabi-Al-Awwal 1430 this evening, Wednesday February 25, 2009, in Oslo, Norway: (Aslakveien 14, 0753 Oslo, Norway - Coordinates: 59.941576 N latitude, 10.649329 E longitude). Local sunset time was 5:34pm and moonset time was 6:32pm, and I attempted to find the moon from 5:45pm until 6:15pm. The sky was completely overcast with heavy fog - and I was unable to see the new moon."

• UK:
  1. Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. Abdurrashid Ayoubi from Kettering mentioned that it was totally cloudy.

  2. Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Qamar Uddin from York said: "On Wednesday, 25 February 2009 corresponding to 29 Safar 1430 AH, I and a few other Muslims (including Imam Zubair Ahmed from York Mosque) have attempted to sight the crescent moon (Hilal) from York after the Magrib (sunset) prayer. The western horizon was fairly clear (although it became cloudy afterwards) but it was not possible sight the Hilal. I have also contacted many Muslims in other parts of UK who have attempted sighting but no one was able to do so and no reliable sighting reports from any countries in the East of UK have been received either. Therefore, the Ulama have decided that tomorrow (26 February 2009) will be 30 Safar 1430 AH and 1 Rabi ul Awwal 1430 AH in UK will be from the next day, Friday 27 February 2009, Insha-Allah. Qamar Uddin, Dated: 25 February 2009, 21:30 hrs GMT."

  3. Not Seen/Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. Suliman Gani from London said: "The five of us including the imam of Balham Mosque attempted the sighting of the Hilal after the Maghrib Salaat from the roof of Balham Mosque. It was totally cloudy. We complete 30 days of month of Safar. 1st Raibi al Awwal will be on Friday, 26 February 2009."

• USA: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Javad Torabinejad from (Christiansburg, VA) said: "The western horizon was cloudy with a streak of opening providing a chance for sighting the crescent. I arrived at my observation point before the sunset and stayed till the moon appeared in the clearing. The sighting was with a pair of binoculars (7X50) only for a couple of min before the crescent disappeared behind the lower edge of the clearing. The crescent was very thin with its horns approximately on 4 and 8 O’clock."

• Trinidad and Tobago: Not Seen/Hazy: ICOP member Mr. Ali Abdurrahman mentioned that the crescent was not seen by naked eye, and the sky was hazy.

Thursday 26 February 2009:

• Bangladesh: Not Seen/Hazy: ICOP memeber Mr. ABM Hassan said: "Today, 26th February, Thursday, moon is sighted from Bangladesh. Very thin moon in higher altitude is seen first then it becomes very clear. The sky was very clear in Dhaka.Ruia'ti Hilal Majlis and Islamic Foundation Both have announced the First day of Rabi-ul-Awwal Shareef from Friday,27th February. Bangladesh will observe Eid-e-Miladunnabi sallahu alihi Wassalam on 10th march, Tuesday.."

• India: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Mohammed Mohsin Khan said: "Today 26 February 2009 / 30 Safar 1430, Rabi-un-Awwal 1430 Crescent has been Sighted in Mumbai and in Most Parts of India. I myself have seen the Crescent. It was easily Visible with Naked eyes. INDIAN Muslims will celebrate EID MILAD-UN-NABI sallallaho alehi wasallam on Tuesday 10th March 2009 / 12th Rabi-ul-Awwal 1430 insha allah."

• Pakistan: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Muhammad Sultan Alam said: "All members and friends of Jamia-tur-Rasheed (more than 700) easily sighted the moon in all 4 provinces of Pakistan. Friday is 1st Rabee-ul-Awwal 1430 in Pakistan. After some days, inshaallah, a detailed report of this observation in Urdu will be available at www.esnips.com/web/moonnewsofjamiaturrasheed"

• Iran:
  1. Seen: ICOP member Mr. Majid Marzani mentioned that he was able to see the crescent by naked eye.

  2. Seen: ICOP member Mr. Hossein Janghorbani said:
     - From: The Astronomy and Geophysics Centre Of Shahreza & Women Astronomy and Geography Society of Isfahan Province
     - Reporter: Hossein Janghorbani, manager of the center

     We saw the new moon crescent on Thursday February. 26th .2009(08/12/1387 according to Iran calendar), in a region located in the east of Shahreza with these geographic coordinates:
     - Lat: 32° N
     - Lon: 51° 52' E
     - Ele: 1825 m
     - Time Zone: +3.5

     The first observation of crescent parameters:
     By: Parisa Naderi
     Through: 15x70 binocular
     Time: 17:38 LT
     Moon Alt: 20.612
     Elongation: 17.457
     Moon Phase: 2.55%
     Moon width: 0.71m
     Rel Azi: 0.380
     Moon Age: 36h 34m

     The first observation of crescent parameters:
     By: Ali Janghorbani
     Through: eye
     Time: 17:50 LT
     Moon Alt: 18.206
     Elongation: 17.543
     Moon Phase: 2.58%
     Moon width: 0.72m
     Rel Azi: 0.529
     Moon Age: 36h 46m

     The group was divided two and all of them observed the crescent
     The group members:
     1. Dr Hemmat
     2. Mohammad Javad Nikeghbal
     3. Behnam rezaee
     4. Saied Shirvan
     5. Mahdi Malekian
     6. Meysam Safian
     7. Shahram Rahmati
     8. Majid Heydari
     9. Ali Bahrami
     10. Hatef Zaraan
     11. Davood Javeri
     12. Mohammad Reza Payan
     13. Reza Janghorbani
     14. Ali Janghorbani
     15. Hossein Janghorbani
     16. Dr Bahreyni
     17. Atefeh Aghaee
     18. Fatemeh Baghoolizadeh
     19. Zahra Heydari
     20. Marzieh Asgari
     21. Zahra Golabi
     22. Mahrokh Khalifehsoltani
     23. Badrosadat Khalifehsoltani
     24. Hakimeh Ghermezi
     25. Reyhaneh Akhavan
     26. Raheleh Akhavan
     27. Parisa Naderi
     28. Najmeh Yossefi
     29. Mottahareh Paian
     30. Arezoo Tabibian
     31. Zahra Fallahi
     

     

  3. Seen: ICOP member Mr. Alireza Mehrani said:
     Location: Tehran, Iran (35° 32' 46.46" N - 51° 22' 13.75" E, 1028 meters from sea level)
     Time zone: +3.5
     Observer & Photographer: Alireza Mehrani

     Topocentric and local time values from "Moon Calculator" (Refrac off):
     Crescent first observation through 7x50 binoculars:
     Time: 17:47 LT
     Moon Alt: 18° 39' 17"
     Sun Alt: 1° 09' 18"
     Elongation: 17° 30' 49"
     Moon width: 0.72'
     Moon Age: 36h 42m after conjunction

     Crescent first observation through naked eyes:
     Time: 18:00 LT
     Moon Alt: 16° 09' 20"
     Sun Alt: - (1° 26' 38")

     Photography information:
     Time: 18:30 LT
     Camera: Sony DSC H-9
     Exposure Time: 1 sec
     Focal Length: 78 mm
     F-Number: F/6.3
     ISO Speed: ISO-80"
     

     

• Kuwait: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Hussain Khushaish said: "On Thursday 26 Feb 2009 at Kuwait city from the balcony of my appartment I could see the crescent as follows: First seen with 8*20 monocular at 19:01 then seen with naked eyes at 18:10 then the crescent disappeared behind cloud at 18:20, sunset was at 17:46 and moonset was at 19:10. The western Horizon was cloudy."

• Saudi: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Bander Albotehy said: "After the sunset (17:39 LT), I started to give up from saying the crescent because of the bad conditions in the western horizon. However, I started seeing the crescent after about 20 mins below venus."

• Tanzania:
  1. Seen: ICOP member Mr. Fuad Bafana said: "Not seen, partly cloudy."

  2. Seen: ICOP member Mr. Hamza Rijal mentioned that he was able to see the crescent by naked eye.

• Nigeria:
  1. Seen: ICOP member Mr. Simwal Jibril said: "The weather was clear and the crescent was seen clearly"

  2. Seen: ICOP member Mr. Usman Dukku said: "I sighted the moon at the mosque after the Maghrib prayer."

• France: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Rida Roty said: "I sight the new moon, hilal of Rabi-al-Awwal by naked eye on February 26 (Thursday)"
  

• Germany: Not Seen/Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. Gerhard Ahmad Kaufmann mentioned that the sky was totally cloudy.

• UK: Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. Qamar Uddin from York said: "On Thursday 26 February 2009, I have tried to sight the 40 hours old moon from York (UK) after the Magrib (sunset) prayer, which was expected to be high enough on the western horizon to be easily visible, but unfortunately it was too cloudy for the moon to be sighted. As reported previously, 1 Rabi ul Awwal 1430 AH in UK is from Friday 27 February 2009, completing 30 days of Safar 1430 AH, Insha-Allah. The attached photo shows that I was equipped with a pair of binoculars (Bessel 10 x 50), telescope (Meade ETX-70) and laptop PC for locating and recording a video of the observations."

• Sweden: Not Seen/Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. Muhammad Shafiur Rahman Chowdury said: "Anjuman-e Al Baiyinaat, Sweden took proper steps for sighting the Crescent Moon for starting the Arabic month of Rabiul Awal Sharif 1430 Hizri. But the Crescent Moon was not sighted by bare eyes on Thursday, February 26, 2009 anywhere in Sweden because of foggy as well as cloudy sky whole the day."

Thursday 26 February 2009:

1. Saudi
2. UAE
3. Bahrain
4. Qatar
5. Kuwait
6. Jordan
7. Egypt
8. Algeria

Friday 27 February 2009:

1. India
2. Bangladesh
3. Pakistan
4. Oman
5. Tanzania
6. South Africa
7. Sweden
8. Trinidad and Tobago

The geocentric conjunction (Geocentric New Moon) will occur Inshalla on (Wednesday 25 February 2009) at 01:35 UT.

Tuesday 24 February 2009:

• Indonesia: Not Seen/Cloudy: ICOP member, Mr. AR Sugeng Riyadi said: "The Old Crescent of Rabi'ul Awwal 1430 AH was NOT SEEN:
  - Status: NOT SEEN , the east-horizon was cloudy.
  - Location: Bendo - Ketitang - Juwiring - Klaten, INDONESIA.
  - Lattitude: 7° 41' S
  - Longitude: 110° 44' E
  - Time Zone: GMT+7
  - Elevation: 98 m
  - Moonrise: 04:51 LT
  - Sunrise: 05:41 LT
  - Moon alt @ Sunrise: 10° 58'
  - Observer: AR Sugeng Riyadi"
  

• Nigeria: Not Seen/Hazy: ICOP member Dr. Sani Mustapha said: "The eastern horizon was hazy on Monday on Tuesday."

Monday 23 February 2009:

• Nigeria: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Usman Ali El-Nafaty mentioned that he was able to see the crescent by naked eye.