International Astronomical Center

So far, the earliest sighting of the crescent was on Sunday 18 February 2007 by ICOP member Mr. Shahid Qureshi from Pakistan, the crescent was also seen on this day from Iran, Iraq, Oman, Saudi, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Tanzania, Malawi, Nigeria, Germany, Guyana and USA.

Sunday 18 February 2007:

• Australia: Partly Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. Afroz Ali said: "The crescent for Safar 1428 was not sighted in Australia." Mr. Afroz mentioned that he tried to observe the crescent by naked eye and it was partly cloudy.

• Indonesia: Cloudy: ICOP member, Mr. Mutoha MMC said: "Today, 18/02/07 (30/01/1428H) is the second-day of crescent sighting day in Indonesia. However the crescent was not sighted anywhere in this country in this evening because most of all region were overcast, cloudy and rainy. Therefore the Muharram will be completely to 30 days, and the official first day of Safar will determined to Monday, 19 February 2007. Rukyat Hilal Indonesia by link here "htp://rukyatulhilal.tripod.com""

• India: Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Mohamed Amin said: "The Crescent on 18 February could not be seen. At the time of Sunset i.e. 6:38 the Elongation was 12 Degree and the Altitude was 10 degree. The Moon set was after 47 minutes of Sunset. As per parabolic sighting report it was under A category and was suppose to be seen clear. But Not in our city but all over India and Pakisatn too it was reported nagative sighting. The phase of the Moon was only 1% as per Astronomical Software and prediction in the software was also NAGATIVE."

• Pakistan: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Shahid Qureshi mentioned that he did not see the crescent by naked eye, be he was able to see it through 60mm telescope, and the sky was hazy.

• Iran:

  1. Seen: ICOP member Mr. Mohammad Zahed Aram mentioned that he was able to see the crescent by naked eye.
     Sunday 18 February 2007
     
     By: Mohammad Zahed Aram

  2. Partly Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. Majid Marzani said: "Seeing the crescent by binoculars was tried In Tehran, but it was not seen." Mr. Marzani added that it was hazy and partly cloudy.

  3. Seen: ICOP member Mr. Alireza Mehrani said:

     Location: Allah-Verdikhan bridge (33 Pol), Esfahan, Iran
     Latitude: 32° 38' 41.06" N
     Longitude: 51° 40' 02.77" E
     Elevation: 1571 meters
     Date: Feb 18, 2007
     Time zone: +3.5
     Sunset: 17:45 LT (behind high mountain)

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

     Crescent first observed through 7x50 binoculars:
     Time: 17:55 LT
     Moon Altitude: 9° 40' 23"
     Sun Altitude: -(1° 38' 58")
     Elongation: 11° 44' 45"
     Relative Azimuth: -(3° 08' 17")
     Phase: 1.23%
     Width: 0.35m
     

     Crescent first observed by naked eyes:
     Time: 18:10 LT
     Moon Altitude: 6° 45' 33"
     Sun Altitude: -(4° 44' 19")
     Elongation: 11° 52' 41"
     Relative Azimuth: -(2° 59' 16")
     Phase: 1.26%
     Width: 0.35m
     Arc Length: 135° (8-3.5)
     

     Observer & photographer: Alireza Mehrani

     Sunday 18 February 2007
     By ICOP member Mr. Alireza Mehrani

• Iraq: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Bacil Moudhaffar said: "Crescent was seen first with binocular then for seconds by naked eye (my friends) then blocked by the clouds."

• Kuwait: Partly Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. Hussain Khushaish said: "In Kuwait on Sunday 18 Feb 2007 I could not sight the crescent at Kabad desert (40 km south west of Kuwait city). The western horizon was partialy cloudy with black haze the last 4~5 degrees that the sun disc disappeared 10 minutes before our local sunset. Venus was seen easily at sunset. On friday 16 Feb 2007 the old crescent was seen easily."

• Oman: Seen: Mr. Mohammed Al Bussaidi mentioned that he was able to see the crescent by naked eye.

• Saudi Arabia: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Edrees Al Shubbar said: "The crescent was seen at several times as the cloudes moves slightly and after about 15 min the total western becomes cloudy and the crescent sets behind the cloud before it reaches the horizon, we where total of three people spoted at different times starting 17:47."

• Egypt: Seen: ICOP member Eng. Qassem Al Damasy mentioned that he was able to see the crescent by naked eye

• Algeria:

  1. Seen: ICOP member Mr. Bankih Kacem said: "Safar 1428 crescent was seen easily by naked eyes at 19:02 LT from Merkiche station. There was four (04) persons. We haven't seen Mercury but Venus was observable sence 18:18."

  2. Seen: ICOP member Mr. Houcine Ch-aissa said: "04 persons were present in N'tissa station. Safar 1428 crescent was seen easily by naked eyes at 18:55 LT. Venus was seen before the sunset."

• Morocco: Seen: Mr. Ali Amraoui said: "The moon crescent of Safar is well seen in Morroco So the 1st Safar is Monday February 19."

• Tanzania: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Zaffar Sheriff said: " The 23.54hr old crescent was easily visible about twenty minutes after sunset." Mr. Sheriff mentioned that he was able to see it by naked eye.

• Malawi:

  1. Seen: ICOP member Mr. Y.M.Lambat said: "In Blantyre, Malawi the crescent was sighted by 5 of us representing Blantyre Muslim Jamat. The sky was clear and we saw the crescent on the left of the star just above the horizon and was very faint. Time was between 6.30 pm and 6.40pm."

  2. Seen: Mr. Abdul Razak said: "This is to inform you that the new Hillal for Safar was sighted in both Limbe and Blantyre on Sunday 18/02/07 all brothers are advised that in Malawi the 1st of Safar is today Monday 19/02/07. May I add that the national Hillal committee is accepting the sightings made in the region of southern/central Africa and would like to know if the countries in the region will accept sightings as per Sharia law from Malawi."

• Nigeria:
  1. Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Muhammed Ya'sin Qamardeen said: "I could not sight the new hilal of safar due to partly cloudy horizon. However report from Bauch indicated positive sighting of Hilal of Month of Safar tonight."

  2. Seen: ICOP member Mr. Usman Dukku said: "I sighted the moon this evenning [by naked eye] here in Bauchi with more than 20 others."

• South Africa: Not Seen: ICOP member Dr. Abdurrazak Ebrahim said: "The crescent was not sighted anywhere in South Africa this Sunday evening [18/02/2007 – and the end of the 29th Muharrum 1428 AH]. Therefore the lunar month of Muharrum will be extended to a 30 day duration, and the official first day of Safar will correspond to Tuesday, 20 February 2007."

• Germany: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Gerhard Ahmad Kaufmann said: "As is often the case with the climate in Germany: When there is a relatively clear winter day, there is often a thick layer of haze near the horizon. This was also the situation today. The sky overhead was perfectly clear, but near the western horizon was a grey layer of haze, between 5 to 10 degrees high. When I arrived at my lookout location a short while after sunset, the crescent had already sunk a little bit into this haze. Nevertheless, I could spot it still easily by binoculars for nearly a quarter hour, until its light eventually was extinguished while the crescent was still more than 5 degrees over the horizon. However, observation by naked eyes was rather difficult, and I could only catch some glimpses of the crescent during a span of no more than four minutes."

• UK:
  1. Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. Muhammad Afifi al-Akiti from Oxford said: "Negative sighting. Although we are expected to sight the crescent tonight in the UK, unfortunately, no sighting was possible in Oxford due to the horizon being overcast. There were reports of positive sightings in the east as well as in Morocco today (Sunday, 18 February), which is in the sighting zone [matla'] that can be relied upon for those in the UK, and the authority there has declared Safar to begin tomorrow, Monday. This news, even if it is not physically possible to sight tonight in the UK itself, is sufficient for those in the UK to establish the new month [thubut al-hilal] of Safar to be tomorrow, Monday, 19th February 2006; by default, following the rule in Fiqh about the precedence of an easterly sighting over the local sighting-zone."

  2. Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. AbdurRashid Ayoubi said: "Attempted to see the moon at around 5.45 pm when the moon should have been reasonably high up the horizon, but it was extremely cloudy all over and we could not sight it."

• Guyana: Seen: ICOP member Dr. Muhammad Hafiz said: "Myself and the members of Rose Hall Town Masjids and Islamic Center tried to observe the Hilaal after sunset on Sunday, 18th February, 2007 in Guyana. The Hilaal was easily seen at 6:25 PM (Guyana Time)."

• USA:

  1. Seen: ICOP member Mr. Javad Torabinejad from (Christiansburg, VA) said: "This evening (Sunday, 18th of February), we sighted the crescent moon of Safar in Christiansburg, VA. It was very high in sky and very easy to find in clear patches in a very cloudy sky."

  2. Seen: ICOP member Mr. Milad Ali Ershaghi from (Alta Loma, CA) said: "Alhamdulillah, at 6:44pm this evening of Sunday, February 18, 2007, I was blessed to see the new crescent moon. My compass reading indicated that from where I was situated, the moon was positioned approximately 110 degrees to the west of magnetic north, and, adjusted for magnetic declination, approximately 98 degrees to the west of true north. It was above my line of sight within a single finger's span and masha'Allah it was a very beautiful crescent. The bottom-most part of the moon appeared illumined as a disk, slightly tilted upwards on the right side. As I observed the crescent, it gradually descended in the sky, until at 6:50pm it was no longer visible. I performed this sighting at the intersection of Haven Avenue and Lemon Avenue in the city of Alta Loma, California, USA, at coordinates of approximately 34.139509 N latitude and 117.570325 W longitude."

  3. Seen: Dr. Youssef Ismail from (San Jose, CA) said: "This evening I and brother Khurram Tai, had the great pleasure of seeing the new hilal for Safar 1428. It was first seen by me at 6:01 pm (and then by Khurram about ten minutes later when he arrived on location) at an Magnetic azimuth of approximately 236 degrees and at an altitude of about 8 fingers above the horizon (approx. 15 degs altitude). The limbs were both pointing up, the right limb was at about 3 O'clock and the left limb at about 8 O'clock. The skies were clear where the moon was seen, but hazy with some clouds near the horizon. The location of the sighting was as before, Windy Hill Open Space Preserve 37 degs 21 mins North Lat. 122 degs 14 mins West Long. at an elevation of 1775 feet above sea level. It was photographed on film, images not available at this time."

  4. Not Seen: ICOP member, Mr. Gulamabbas Khakoo from (Buena Park, CA) said: "Unable to sight the crescent on Sunday, Feb. 18th, 2007 due to very heavy cloud in Western Horizon."

Monday 19 February 2007:

1. Indonesia
2. Pakistan
3. Iran
4. Oman
5. Saudi
6. Jordan
7. Egypt
8. Algeria
9. Morocco
10. Tanzania
11. UK
12. Guyana
13. USA

Tuesday 20 February 2007:

1. South Africa

The geocentric conjunction (Geocentric New Moon) will occur Inshalla on (Saturday 17 February 2007) at 16:14 UT.

Friday 16 February 2007:

• Iran: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Alireza Mehrani said:
  Location: Kuh Sofe, Esfahan Iran
  Latitude: 32° 36' N
  Longitude: 51° 39' E
  Elevation: 1789 meters
  

  Date: Feb 16, 2007
  Time: 06:12 LT
  Time zone: +3.5
  Elongation: 20° 51' 43"
  Phase: 3.45%
  Width: 1.06m
  Arc Length: 150°
  Observer & photographer: Alireza Mehrani
  

  Friday 16 February 2007
  
  By: Alireza Mehrani

• USA: Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Jim Stamm said: I used the atmospheric conditions for the area that I was looking over (Mt. Lemmon).

  Old Moon Crescent Observation Report
  ===============================
  2007 February 16

  Location = Tucson, Arizona (USA)
  Longitude = 110.9645 W
  Latitude = 32.4204 N
  Elevation = 842 meters
  Time Zone = -7.0 hours
  

  Surface conditions over Mt. Lemmon
  Temperature = 01 degrees Celcius
  Relative Humidity = 42 percent
  Sea level Pressure = 1028 bars

  Magnitude limit at 8 degrees altitutde with 55 power in C-8 telescope, before onset of twilight = 11.0

  Topocentric and local time values from “Accurate Times”:
  Moonrise (at sea level) = 06:31
  Sunrise (at sea level) = 07:01
  Time from new moon at 07:25 = 24 hr. 56 min.
  Moon lag time = 30 minutes
  Relative Altitude = 5 degrees
  Elongation from sun = 14.5 degrees
  Crescent width = 31 arcseconds
  Illumination = 1.6 percent
  

  I was NOT able to see the crescent, even through a telescope.
  99% sure of field of view
  90% sure of focus
  

  Observer(s): Jim Stamm & John Polacheck