Visibility of Rabeea' Thani Crescent
(1420 AH)

Last Updated 17 July at 14:10 UT

In this page:-

When to Observe ?
Observing the Crescent
The First Day in Different Countries
The Accuracy of The Astronomical Calculations.

When to Observe ?

The geocentric new Moon will occur on Tuesday 13 July 1999, at 02:24 UT. The program Moon Calculator by Dr. Monzur Ahmed -according to Ilyas' criterion- showed that the crescent will be visible by naked eyes on 13 July some where starting from South America. And so, countries west of this area (within the parabola) will be able to see the crescent on this day. However, using telescopes, the crescent will be seen in more eastern areas. On the other hand, countries outside the parabola will see the crescent by naked eyes on the next day (14 July). Consequently, arrange to observe the crescent after the sunset of 13 or 14 June. Kindly click on the below icon to see the visibility parabola as plotted by the program Moon Calculator

Results of seeing the crescent, and the first day of Rabeea' Thani in different countries will be added here as we receive the reports from ICOP's members. If you wish to be a member in ICOP, or to know more about it, kindly click here.

Observing the Crescent

So far, the earliest sighting of the crescent was on Wednesday 14 July from Iran.

Tuesday 13 July

Saudi: ICOP member, Mr. Saleh Al-Saab, said: "I was trying to see the new crescent this evening in Riyadh, but that was very difficult because its altitude was only 3.5 degrees. On the other hand tomorrow (Wednesday) is the first day of Rabeea' ath-Thani according to the official local calendar. Tomorrow it will be very easy to see the crescent, because it is about 15 degrees above the horizon."

Jordan: 6 observers of JAS and ICOP went to western Amman in trying to glimpse the very thin crescent, but the crescent was not seen. Knowing that the horizon was not that clear due to haze.

South Africa:

ICOP member, Dr. John Caldwell of the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO), mentioned that he didn't see the crescent. He said: " I used binoculars; Dave Laney used his binoculars and also telescope; haziness not too bad, but the lowest 2-3 degrees of the western horizon had a haze layer, still the sea horizon was definitely visible; scattered cloud occurred low down towards most directions except east; some clouds around moon location, but largely between the clouds; conditions fair but not good; kept trying from about 6:05 till moonset."
ICOP member, Mr. Hashim Salie said: "The Members of the Crescent Observers Society went to their normal vantage points, The skies was clear with low haze on the western horizon. I, personally tried observation from Pretoria, approximately 1600 km northeast of Cape Town....clear skies, no crescent sighted. The Muslim Judicial Council declared, Thursday 15 July 1999, the 1 st day of Rabee Ath Thaanee in South Africa.

Canada: ICOP member, Mr. Mohammad Farooq said: "Local sunset time 20:59. New moon age at sunset 22:34. Weather in Hamilton clear, relative humidity 33%, barometric pressure 102.0Kpa Even with these favorable conditions I was still unable to see the new moon with the naked eyes and binoculars. This is an excellent example for us people living on the east coast of North America not to rely on information on the new moon from sources in Asia and the Middle East. We should put more emphasis on information on the new moon from the west coast of North America in circumstances like today."

Wednesday 14 July

Iran: ICOP member, Mr. Asadollah Khoddam Mohammadi mentioned that he was able to see the crescent on Wednesday.

Morocco: ICOP member, Dr. Hamid TOUMA said: "As you know the new moon was on the Tuesday 13 July 99 at 2 h 25 mn and the crescent was born on the same day, Tuesday 13 July at 18 H but until 21 H the crescent was not seen, on the same day of course. It was present in the sky but not visible, because it was on the red region atmosphere and it was mask or hide by the red radiance of Sun. However, on the Wednesday 14 July 99 at 19 H 55 mn (15 mn after the Sunset, the crescent was visible very good and it was a large one. It was clear that it was plus of 30 hours of life. So, in Morocco the first day of Rabea II was then Thursday 15 July 99. Thank you, and sorry for the mistake and no clear text for the last note. Sorry. About the all time is on the UT. Thank you"

UK: ICOP member, Dr. Monzur Ahmed said:

"Moonsighting report from Birmingham, UK.

13th July 1999 - no sighting attempt made

14th July 1999 - once again there was a thick band of dark cloud on the western horizon; we returned home disappointed!"