Safar Waxing (NEW) Crescent Observation Results
So far, the earliest sighting of the crescent -after sunset- was on Tuesday 27 January 2009 from Malaysia by ICOP member, Mr. Kassim Bahali, the crescent was also seen on this day from India, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi, Algeria, Sudan, Senegal, USA and Trinidad and Tobago.
Monday 26 January 2009:
- Sri Lanka: Not Seen: ICOP memeber Mr. Irfhan Razick said: "Due to no crescent sighted claim from any part of the country - Grand Masjid of Sri Lanka & ACJU (All Ceylon Jammiyyathul Ulama) has declared WED 28th of JAN 2009 as Muharram 30th of 1430."
- India: Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Mohammed Mohsin Khan said: "Here in Mumbai Sunset was at 06:28 pm IST and Moonset was at 06:35 pm IST. so there was 7 mins difference, Sky was clear but Crescent has not been sighted in India."
- Pakistan: Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Muhammad Sultan Alam said: "It was certain that moon would not be visible anywhere in Pakistan because lag was just 5 to 8 minutes and moon’s age was hardly 5 hours. In spite of these facts, to increase the trust of common people in the Science of Moon-sighting, I requested many members of the moon-sighting committees of our institute "JAMIA-TUR-RASHEED" and many of my friends all over Pakistan to sight the moon but the moon could not be sighted, as it was certain tonight. About 116 Persons tried to sight the moon at these 20 Places: Karachi (8 Places), Islamabad, Multan, Shorkot Jhang, Faisalabad, Gwadar, Turbat, Tamb, Aasiabad, Dera-Ismaeel-Khan, Pishin, Charsaddah, Battal."
- Kuwait: Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Hussain Khushaish said: "In Kuwait city on Monday 26 Jan 2006, a group of 8 persons tried to see the crescent but we could not see it even with binocular. The weather was clear exept last 2-3 degrees was hazy."
- Saudi: Not Seen/Hazy: ICOP member Mr. Bander Albotehy said: "I stopped my car when the sun was almost behind the trees. I tried to locate the crescent but I could not find it. I used 7x50 binocular and 70-300mm lense attached to DSLR camera with no success. Venus was clear at 17:22."
- Morocco: Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Othman Fadli mentioned that the crescent was not seen by naked eye and the sky was clear.
- Nigeria: Not Seen/Hazy: ICOP member Mr. Usman Dukku said: "We did not try sighting the crescent, here in Bauchi, due to poor visibility caused by harmattan."
- South Africa: Not Seen: ICOP member Dr. Abdurrazak Ebrahim mentioned that the crescent was not seen by telescope, and the sky was clear.
- UK:
- Not Seen/Cloudy: ICOP member Dr. Muhammad Afifi al-Akiti from Oxford, UK said: "Negative sighting. The two of us attempted to perform the sighting tonight for the Safar crescent in Oxford on 29 Muharram, Monday 26 January, immediately after Maghrib prayers at the usual site. There are cirrus clouds on the local horizon and the new crescent could not be sighted. By 'Isha time there were no reports of any credible sighting east of our location; rather, we received news of negative sightings in Morocco, South Africa, and Indonesia. Therefore, we should be completing 30 days [istikmal] for Muharram, so that the first day of Safar should fall in the UK on Wednesday 28 January (beginning from Maghrib, 27 January)."
- Not Seen/Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. Qamar Uddin said: "On Monday, 26 January 2009 corresponding to 29 Muharram 1430 AH, I and a scientist colleague of mine have attempted to sight the crescent moon (Hilal) from York after the Magrib (sunset) prayer. The western horizon was totally cloudy and so it was not possible for us to sight the Hilal. I have also contacted many Muslims in other parts of UK (from Edinburgh to Canterbury) who have attempted sighting but no one was able to do so, even though the horizon was clear in some parts of the country. There were no reliable sighting reports from any countries in the East of UK either. Therefore the Ulama in UK (Wifaq/Bately) have decided that tomorrow (27 January 2009) will be 30 Muharram 1430 AH and 1 Safar 1430 AH in UK will be from the next day, Wednesday 28 January 2009, Insha-Allah."
- Trinidad and Tobago: Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Kahiam Hosein said: "We looked for the crescent after sunset on Monday 26th Jan 09. The moon was confirmed NOT SIGHTED as reported by all of our committies. This was also the report from Barbados, Guyana and Grenada. Muharram therefore completed 30 days and the first night of Safar 1430 was the night of Tue 27th Jan 09 and the first day on Wed 28th Jan 09. The moon however was seen clearly on the evening of Tue 27th 09."
Tuesday 27 January 2009:
- Australia: Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. Afroz Ali said: "The crescent was not sighted anywhere in Australia. Therefore the 1st of Safar commences on 29th January in Australia."
- Indonesia: Not Seen/Cloudy: ICOP member, Mr. AR Sugeng Riyadi said:
Status: NOT SEEN, because all sky was totally cloudy
Location: Bendo-Juwiring-Klaten
Latitude: 7° 41' 39.17" S
Longitude: 110° 44' 20.64" E
Time Zone: GMT+7
Elevation: 98 m
Sunset: 18:03 LT
Moonset: 18:47 LT
Moon alt @ Sunset: 09° 20'
- Malaysia: Seen: ICOP member, Mr. Kassim Bahali said: "The hilal was seen from Al-Khawarizmi observatory with video CCD using Borg 70mm telescope. The observation can be followed via website www.khawarizmiobs.com and hilal was seen through the website."
- Bangladesh: Not Seen/Hazy: ICOP memeber Mr. ABM Hassan said: "The sky was hazy. Moon was not seen anywhere in Bangladesh. After counting 30 days of Muharra-mul Haram 1st day of safar will be on 29th January, Thursday."
- India: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Mohammed Mohsin Khan said: "Here in Mumbai Sunset was at 06:29 pm IST and Moonset was at 07:26 pm IST. so there was 57 mins difference, Moon Age was 29 hrs, 7 mins but Sky was little cloudy and Crescent has not been sighted in Mumbai city BUT it was Sighted in Mumbai Subrbs and in Most Parts of India. Official Moon-Sighting Committee of Mumbai have officially announced late Night at 11:00 pm IST (UT+5.5) on the bases of Shahadat that Tuesday 27 January 2009 was 29th Moharram and 1st Safar 1430 will fall on Wednesday 28 January 2009."
- Pakistan: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Muhammad Sultan Alam said: "We easily sighted the moon in Karachi and in many parts of country as it was expected tonight astronomically. I requested many members of the moon-sighting committees of our institute "JAMIA-TUR-RASHEED" and many of my friends all over Pakistan to sight the moon. About 199 Persons easily sighted the moon at these 14 Places: Karachi (8 places), Turbat, Aasiabad, gwadar, Badeen, Dera-ismaeel-khan, Kehror-pakka. Note 1: Many other members tried to sight but they could not succeed due to clouds or haze. At many places weather was clear but probably the atmospheric condition (temperature, humidity & atmospheric pressure etc ), moreover the non expertise etc were the reasons of non sighting. Following are these places: Jhang (dust & haze), Battal (clear), Charsaddah (clear), Faisalabad (clear), Islamabad (clear), Malakand (cloudy), Quetta ( clear ), Shorkot( hazy), Ghotki (Hazy), Battal (clear), Texilla (cloudy) Note 2 : Chairman of central official moon sighting committee of Pakistan told me on my mobile phone that after receiving the positive reports all over the country, he has officially announced that 1st Safar 1430 will be on Wednesday, January 28, 2009 in Pakistan after ending the 29 days of Muharram 1429. Note 3: After some days, Inshaallah, a detailed report of this observation in Urdu will be available at www.esnips.com/web/moonnewsofjamiaturrasheed"
- Iran:
- Seen: ICOP member Mr. Majid Marzani said: "The crescent was seen by naked eyes in Tehran."
- 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 Tuesday January. 27th .2009 (08/11/1387 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 and Hossein Janghorbani
Through: 15x70 binocular
Time: 17:48 LT
Moon Alt: 8.895
Elongation: 13.232
Moon Phase: 1.52%
Moon width: 0.40m
Rel Azi: - 3.140
Moon Age: 30h 22m
The group was divided two and all of them observed the crescent
The group members:
1. Rahamt allah Rezaee
2. Javad Amiri
3. Reza Enasandost
4. Saied Shirvan
5. Reza Janghorbani
6. Ali Janghorbani
7. Hossein Jamghorbani
8. Ezzat Mirmohamadi
9. Zahra Kermani
10. Zahra Madineh
11. Marzieh Ghoreishi
12. Elham Salehi
13. Zeinab Ghazanfari
14. Anis Janghorban
15. Salime Amooali
16. Fatemeh Ghadiri
17. Rana Hosseini
18. Mahdieh Ashoripor
19. Shahin Gharakhloo
20. Zeinab Ghadiri
21. Farzane Abipoor
22. Farzane Eskandari
23. Parisa Sarhan
24. Mozhghan Ghazanfari
25. Sana Bakhshizade
26. Najmeh Ranjbar
27. Fatemeh Khanahmadi
28. Elahe Khanahmadi
29. Maliheh Mosavi
30. Arghavan Mahmoodi
31. Zhila Taghavi
32. Zahra Heidari
33. Mahsa Amiri
34. Shekoofe Soghra
35. Marzie Askari
36. Mottahareh Paian
37. Fereshteh Dastres
38. Zahra Darsanj
39. Parisa Naderi
40. Farzane Naderi
41. Najmeh Yossefi
42. Zahra Fallahi
- Seen: ICOP member Mr. Alireza Mehrani said:
Location: Esfahan, Iran
Latitude: 32° 35' 29.23" N
Longitude: 51° 38' 10.04" E
Elevation: 2087 meters from sea level
Time Zone: +3.5
Temperature: 10 C°
Barometer: 844.1 mb
Visibility: 15 km
Wind: Calm
Humidity: 33%
Observer & photographer: Alireza Mehrani
Participants: Mrs. L. Mir Shamshirgaran, Miss. S. Mir Shamshirgaran, Mr. Moradi, Mr. Janghorban, Mr. Mansouri, Mr. Shafiei, Mr. Mosayyebi, Mr. Mirzaeei
Topocentric and local time values from "Moon Calculator" (Refrac off):
Crescent first observation through 15x70 binoculars by Saeeid Janghorban:
Time: 17:27 (13:57 UT)
Moon Alt: 12° 38' 51"
Sun Alt: 0° 04' 32"
Elongation: 13° 05' 22"
Rel Azi: - (3° 40' 30")
Moon Width: 0.39'
Moon Phase: 1.48%
Crescent Arc Length: 120° (3.5-7.5)
Moon Age: 30h 02m after conjunction
- Seen: ICOP member Mr. Khaleghi Kambiz mentioned that the crescent was seen by naked eye.
- Iraq: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Hassan Alsabbar said: "We saw the crescent by naked eyes, but on Monday we couldn't see it by telescope 10 inch."
- Kuwait: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Hussain Khushaish said: "In Kuwait city on Tuesday 27 Jan 2009, a group of 10 persons tried to see the crescent and the event went as follows: Sun disappeared at nearly 17:19, sunset at 17:23, first seen with 20*60 bino at 17:35 (thats 12 minutes after sunset), first seen with naked eyes at 17:44 (thats 21 minutes after sunset i,e the sky became little bit dark), last seen with naked eyes at 18:06 (22 minutes before moonset), last seen with bino at 18:08 (thats 20 minutes before moon set), moonset at 18:28. The western horizon was clear exept last 2-3 degrees of haze."
- Bahrain: Seen: ICOP member Mr. A.Hameed Ali Haji said: "Myself and all of the members of WALIALASER GROUP observed the new Crescent (Hilaal) with a 10 inchs telescop LX200R." And also the crescent seen by binocular and naked eyes."
- Saudi: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Saleh Al-Saab mentioned that the crescent was seen by naked eye.
- Algeria:
- Seen: ICOP member Mr. Houcine Chikh Aissa said: "12 persons were present in Ami Said instutit. Safar 1430 crescent was seen easily by naked eyes at 18:35 LT."
- Seen: ICOP member Mr. Bankih Kacem said: "Observation of the SAFAR 1430 crescent from Bamhamed. Sunset: 18:05 behind the Djebel of Udjudjen, Azimuth:N244. Observation of the crescent with 20x60 binoculars at 18:25:30. By naked eye at 18:42. At 19:03 the crescent was invisible to the naked eye. Crescent set at 19:12."
- Sudan: Seen: ICOP member Ms. Sara Mohamed mentioned that she was able to see the crescent by naked eye.
- Tanzania: Not Seen/Hazy: ICOP member Mr. Hamza Rijal said: "The Hilaal for Safar was not sighted in tiny island of Zanzibar due to the condition."
- Nigeria:
- Not Seen/Hazy: ICOP member Dr. Sani Mustapha mentioned that the crescent was not seen by naked eye and the sky was hazy.
- Not Seen/Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. Muhammed Ya'sin Qamardeen said: "No positive report of Hilal was confirmed from various place (Ilorin, Lagos and Kano city) here in Nigeria. However as the month had run for thirty days, hence new month commence tomorrom Wednesday January 28."
- Not Seen/Hazy: ICOP member Mr. Simwal Jibril said: "Imran Jibril and myself went out but it was hazy we couldnt see the new crescent."
- Not Seen/Hazy: ICOP member Mr. Usman Dukku said: " We did not see the crescent here in Bauchi; the horizon was dusty and cloudy."
- Not Seen/Partly Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. AbdulRasaq Abdul-Azeez said: "The crescent was not seen in area of Ikorodu Lagos- State."
- Senegal: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Ibrahima Thierno Lo said: "The crescent was seen by naked eyes Tuesday 27 January."
- Germany: Not Seen/Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. Gerhard Ahmad Kaufmann mentioned that the sky was totally cloudy.
- Sweden: Not Seen/Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. Muhammad Shafiur Rahman Chowdury said:
Even the moon is not generally visible in the 1st few days of the month in Sweden. But this month was exception. There was a little possibility today (Tuesday, January 27, 2009) to see the Crescent Moon for starting the Arabic month of Safar 1430 Hizri from the Southern part of Sweden which was known from different reliable International Moon Sighting websites and committees. So, ANJUMANE AL BAIYINAAT, SWEDEN took proper steps for sighting the Crescent Moon for starting the Arabic month of Safar 1430 Hizri. But the Crescent Moon was not sighted by bare eyes today (Tuesday, January 27, 2009) anywhere in Sweden because of foggy as well as cloudy sky whole the day. So, the ANJUMANE AL BAIYINAAT, SWEDEN have Announced Inshallah the Arabic
month of Safar 1430 Hizri will be started from Thursday, January 29, 2009 in Sweden.
- Muhammad Shafiur Rahman Chowdury: Kista Allevagan, Stockholm, Sweden
- Muhammad Kamruzzaman Khan: Alby, Stockholm, Sweden
- Md. Hasan Jahid: Tensta, Stockholm, Sweden
- Md. Nasir Uddin Ahmad Chowdhury: Varby Gard, Stockholm, Sweden
- Md. Zahurul Islam Mridha: Umea, Sweden
- Md. Abu kawsar: Midsweden, Sweden
- USA:
- Seen: ICOP member Mr. Ken Hugill mentioned that the crescent was seen by naked eye.
- Seen: ICOP member Mr. Qaiser Imam said: "Safar 1430 crescent was sighted easily with the naked eye in USA on the evening of January 27, 2009 and Safar 1430H starts on January 28, 2009G in North America."
- Trinidad and Tobago: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Kahiam Hosein said: "We looked for the crescent after sunset on Monday 26th Jan 09. The moon was confirmed NOT SIGHTED as reported by all of our committies. This was also the report from Barbados, Guyana and Grenada. Muharram therefore completed 30 days and the first night of Safar 1430 was the night of Tue 27th Jan 09 and the first day on Wed 28th Jan 09. The moon however was seen clearly on the evening of Tue 27th 09."
The OFFICIAL First Day in Different Countries
Tuesday 27 January 2009:
- Kuwait
- Saudi
- UAE
- Qatar
- Bahrain
- Egypt
- Sudan
Wednesday 28 January 2009:
- Indonesia
- Malaysia
- Sri Lanka
- India
- Pakistan
- Oman
- Jordan
- Algeria
- Morocco
- South Africa
- Senegal
- Trinidad and Tobago
Thursday 29 January 2009:
- Australia
- Bangladesh
- Sweden
When to Observe Muharram Waning (OLD) Crescent ?
The geocentric conjunction (Geocentric New Moon) will occur Inshalla on (Monday 26 January 2009) at 07:55 UT.
Sighting the OLD crescent on (Monday 26 January 2009) and on (Sunday 25 January 2009) is shown in the below graphs using the program Accurate Times by Mohammad Odeh according to Odeh criterion. Where:-
- It is impossible to see the OLD crescent from the areas located under the red color. Because either the Moon on this day rises after the Sunrise and/or the topocentric conjunction occurs before the Sunrise.
- The crescent is expected to be seen by optical aid only from the areas located under the blue color.
- The crescent is expected to be seen by optical aid from the areas located under the magenta color.. In these areas the crescent could be seen by naked eye if the atmospheric conditions are superb and the observer is experienced.
- The crescent is expected to be easily visible by naked eye from the areas located under the green color.
- The crescent can not be seen from uncolored areas, even though the Moon rises in these locations before the Sunrise and the topocentric conjunction occurs after the Sunrise, but the Moon is not sufficiently illuminated in order to be seen as crescent even by optical aid.
- Kindly notice that the below graph shows the possibility of seeing the crescent from areas between 60 degrees north of Equator down to 60 degrees south of Equator.
Monday 26 January 2009
Sunday 25 January 2009
Muharram Waning (OLD) Crescent Observation Results
Monday 26 January 2009:
- Saudi: Not Seen/Hazy: ICOP member Mr. Bander Albotehy said: "The humidity was high. The crescent has not been seen by naked eyes nor by 7x50 binocular."
Sunday 25 January 2009:
- Indonesia: Not Seen/Partly Cloudy: ICOP member, Mr. AR Sugeng Riyadi said: "The Old Crescent of Muharram 1430 AH was NOT SEEN:
Location: PPMI Assalaam - Surakarta Indonesia
Lattitude: 7° 33' S
Longitude: 110° 46 E
Time Zone: GMT+7
Elevation: 113 m
Moonrise: 04:31 LT
Sunrise: 05:35 LT
Moon alt @ Sunrise : 13° 8'
Observers: AR Sugeng Riyadi and All members of CASA (Club Astronomi Santri Assalaam)-Surakarta."
- Saudi: Not Seen/Hazy: ICOP member Mr. Bander Albotehy said: "I tried by naked eyes and a binocular (7x50) but I could not see the crescent due to the hazy horizon. The crescent lag was 40 minutes (Sunrise Time 6:28 - Moonrise Time 5:48). However, the bad conditions did not allow me to see the crescent."
- Nigeria: Not Seen/Hazy: ICOP member Dr. Sani Mustapha mentioned that the crescent was not seen by naked eye.
- Germany: Not Seen/Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. Martin Elsaesser mentioned that it was totally cloudy.
By Moh'd Odeh. Copyright © 1998-2009 Islamic Crescents' Observation Project (ICOP), All Rights Reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission. For more information Kindly send E-mail
