International Astronomical Center

So far, the earliest sighting of the crescent -after sunset- was on Saturday 02 August 2008 by ICOP member Mr. Sam De Francesco from Australia, the crescent was also seen on this day from Malaysia, Bangladesh, Iran, Saudi, Jordan, Lebanon, Algeria, Morocco, Tanzania, South Africa, Nigeria, Germany and USA.

Friday 01 August 2008:

• Pakistan: Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Muhammad Sultan Alam said: "It was certain that the crescent would not be sighted anywhere in Pakistan tonight because moonset was only nearly 5 minutes after sunset, all over Pakistan . In spite of this fact, to increase the trust of common people upon the Science of Moon-sighting and because the people become confused due to the 29th day according to the Ummul-Qura calendar, 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 expected tonight. Our reporters have tried to sight the crescent moon at these places: (In Sindh) Karachi , at 6 places + Hyderabad + Tando Allah yar . (In Sarhad) Charsaddah, Hango, Bajor (In Punjab ) Lahore, Rawalpindi, Sheikhupura, Shujaabad, Shorkot. (In Baluchistan ) Pishin."

• Saudi: Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Saleh Al-Saab said: "The crescent was only 2.6 degrees above the horizon at sunset, and remain only 10 minutes after the sun, so it was not seen."

• USA: Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Javad Torabinejad from (Christiansburg, VA) said: "This evening (Friday Aug 1st, 2008), using a pair of binoculars (7X50), I tried sighting the moon with no success. I arrived at the sighting location in the town of Christiansburg, VA before sunset (sunset: 8:28) and soon after started looking for the moon in the W-WNW horizon. The lower part of the western horizon was cloudy and overall hazy. I was able to locate Venus and not Mercury! I scanned the horizon till 8:49 (local moonset 8:47) with no success."

Saturday 02 August 2008:

• Australia: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Sam De Francesco said: "A difficult sighting, the crescent appeared just at the top of the orange glow in the sky and was seen for approximately 20 minutes before disappearing behind some low cloud above the horizon."

• Malaysia: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Kassim Bahali said: "The Hilal was seen from Al-Khawarizmi observatory in Tanjung Bidara before the sunset. The sunset was at 19: 25 local time. I have sighted the first visible hilal at 19:15 by telescope, Borg 77ED apochromat with video CCD and then at 19:20 by telescope LX200 8" and theodolite. The hilal was seen by naked eye at 19:25 with another three observers from Al-Khawarizmi observatory; Shafee, Mizan and Adha."
  

• Bangladesh:seen: ICOP memeber Mr. ABM Hassan said: "Very thin Shaban moon is sighted on 2nd August, Saturday in the Sunamgonj District, the north –western part of Bangladesh."

• India: Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. Mohammad Amin said: "It was 29th of Rajab at Local. Earlier day Sun Eclipse Partial could be seen in the evening before Sunset. On 2nd August Saturday evening Sunset was at 6:57 and Moonset was at 7:47. Elongation was above 14 degree and Altitude at Sunset was above 10 degree. Due to Clouds totally we could not see the crescent and the report from all over India our country same sky situation preveiled and finally declaration came of that Crescent could not be observed and Rjab may have 30 days."

• Pakistan:
  1. Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Muhammad Sultan Alam said: "Tonight i.e. on 2nd August 2008, crescent moon was easily visible in costal areas of Pakistan by naked eyes according to the all old and new criteria of moon-sighting, but it was difficult to sight in the other parts of Pakistan. I requested many members of the personal 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 any where in Pakistan due to heavy cloudy and rainy season. Our reporters have tried to sight the crescent moon at these places: (In Sindh) Karachi , at 10 places + Hyderabad + Tando Allah yar . (In Sarhad) Batal, Hango, Bajor (In Punjab ) Lahore, Sargodha, Sheikhupura, Shujaabad, Shorkot. (In Baluchistan ) Pishin. Chairman of central official moon sighting committee of Pakistan "Mufti Munee-bur-Rahman" told me on my personal mobile phone that because he did not receive any positive report of moon sighting from all over Pakistan, therefore he has officially announced that Sunday August 03, 2008 is the 30th Rajab and 1st Sha?ban 1429 will fall on Monday August 04, 2008 in Pakistan."

  2. Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Tahir Gul Hasan said: "Although the sky was clear but the western horizon's thin clouds prevented the crescent observation from sunset until monnset."

• Iran:
  1. Seen: ICOP member Mr. Majid Marzani said: "The crescent was seen by naked eyes."

  2. Seen: ICOP member Mr. Alireza Mehrani said:
     "Location: Esfahan , Iran (32:35:49.90N 51:41:15.45E). Elevation: 1672 meters from sea level.
     Time Zone: + 4.5.
     Western horizon: Dusty.
     (Moon Calculator ver 6, by Dr. Monzur Ahmed, Topo, Refrac OFF)
     Time: 20:18 LT (15:48 UT)
     Moon Alt: 4° 12' 38"
     Sun Alt: - (4° 15' 11")
     Elongation: 15° 44' 55"
     Rel Azi: - (13° 17' 36")
     Moon Width: 0.60 rm Moon
     Phase: 2.02%
     Arc Length (visible): 135° (2.5- 6)
     Moon Age: 29h 36m after conjunction"
     

• Saudi: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Saleh Al-Saab said: "It was easily sighted by binocular 12 minutes after sunset, and then by naked eye 20 minutes after then."

• Bahrain: Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. A.Hameed Ali Haji said: "Sighted the new crescent of shabaan with walialaser group, but the sky was cloudy, specially the western horizon was cloudy hazy and dusty. So the new moon was not seen."

• Jordan: Seen: ICOP member Ms. Basma Dhiab said: "we were 5 members of Jas: Khaled Tel, Yusef Hmouz, Radwan Abu Hlalah, Doa' Herzalla and myself. There were two guests too: a child Ahmad Herzalla and Ammar Rawahy from Oman who participated in a workshop for crescent observation which was introduced by JAS mamber Yusef Hmoz. We were on the roof of a 5 floors bulding on the top of a hill in Amman. Doa' Herzalla _ my pupil _ was the first one who could recognize the crescent by her naked eyes and she pointed at it so we managed to see it easily. She was so happy because it was the first time for her to share us the crescent observation."

• Lebanon:
  1. Seen: ICOP member Mr. Hussain Khushaish said: "In Khaiam town South Lebanon On Sat 2 Aug 2008 I could see the crescent only with 20*60 binocular. First sighting was at 19:42 and last sighting was at 20:10. The western horizon was cloudy upto 20 degrees. Venus was seen easily with naked eyes. We were more than 10 persons of my family and all of them could see the crescent easily with binocular."

  2. Seen: ICOP member Dr. Raad Ahmad said: "The crescent was first located by binocular and then seen by naked eyes."

  3. Seen: ICOP members Mr. Bashir Jarrah and Mr. Mordi Ghadban mentioned that they were able to see the crescent by naked eye after 20 minutes of sunset at: 19:58 until it disappeared at 20:09 LT, and they observed it from Sultan Yaqob Mountain (highest point in Western Biqa') and the crescent had set behind Barouk Mountain. They were 16 observes and Bashir was the first to see it.

• Algeria: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Bankih Kacem said: "The Chaban 1429 crescent was seen from Mekiche Station. The western horizon was hazy and partly cloudy. 09 persons have tried to observe the crescent and have used 20x60, 8x30 and 7x50 binoculars. Venus was observed and used to observe the crescent."
  

• Morocco: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Othman Fadli mentioned that he was able to see the crescent by naked eye.

• South Africa: Seen: ICOP member Dr. Abdurrazak Ebrahim mentioned that he was able to see the crescent by naked eye.

• Tanzania:
  1. Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. Zaffar Sheriff said: "Due to heavy clouds on western horizon the crescent was not seen in Daressalaam. Confirmations received from Mwanza, north west of our city where the crescent has been sighted.

  2. Seen: ICOP member Mr. Hamza Rijal said: "Hilal was sighted in tiny Island of Zanzibar on Saturday and August 3rd was the first of Sha'aban. I am not among who had observed the Hilal but number of people managed to see the Hilal in number of places for both two island Unguja and Pemba and Mufty office verfy that the Awal Shaaban to be on 3rd."

• Nigeria:
  1. Seen: ICOP member Mr. Muhammed Ya'sin Qamardeen said: "Al Hamdulillah, Hilal of month Shaban was sigthed here at Lagos tonight, and planet Venus adorned the new crescent make a perfect jewel to the beholder. Besides, there is positive report from Amir of Lajinat Hilal Ilorin, Kwara state, Nigeria, when I called him over Phone. As at moment I was unnable to get report from Dr. Dukku in Bauchi as his line is not reachable."

  2. Seen: ICOP member Imam Majolagbe Monsuru said: "I did not see. Though, some one phoned us on 03 08 Sunday that the moon was seen in Agege on Sat. 02 08 2008 as against our localty Ikorodu."

  3. Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. Usman Dukku said: "It was cloudy this evening here in Bauchi; so we did not attempt sighting the crescent. However some of our members sighted it in some villages south of Bauchi. We also received reports of positive sighting in Ilorin, southwestern Nigeria."

• Germany:
  1. Cloudy: ICOP memeber Mr. Gerhard Ahmad Kaufmann mentioned that it was totally cloudy.

  2. Seen: ICOP member Mr. Martin Elsaesser said: "The crescent was quite wide, at 17° elongation. The sky conditions were rather bad, with big clouds at the horizon and a lot of moisture. The crescent could easily be seen in contrast-enhanced live-video on a notebook with a camera attached to a small telescope, starting two hours before sunset. A red-filter was used with the black/white video camera. Despite repeated attempts, only a short period of visual observation with 8x binoculars showed the crescent (at about 12° height, 50 minutes before sunset), in a small gap in the hazy clouds, which were lingering near the horizon. So, even such a wide crescent can be very difficult to see visually. The attached image shows the screen with the moon 6° above the horizon, behind layers of haze, with thicker clouds moving through. I could not see this visually with binoculars, but with the camera it was as simple as watching television. The nice thing about television is that almost everybody knows how to do it."
     

• UK:
  1. Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Muhammad Afifi al-Akiti from Oxford said: "Sighting not attempted. I am travelling this evening, Saturday the 29th day of Rajab for the UK, and am unable to perform the moonsighting for Sha'ban. Nevertheless, there are reports of positive sightings in numerous places East to the UK, including Morocco. This news, despite not being able to sight locally in the UK, makes it sufficient for those in the UK to begin the month of Sha'ban tomorrow, on Sunday the 3rd of August (beginning from today's Maghrib, and not on Monday the 4th of August).

  2. Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Qamar Uddin from London said: "On Saturday 2 August 2008, corresponding to 29 Rajab 1429 AH, I (Qamar Uddin) and Shaykh Sulayman Gani was invited to present a seminar on the science of moon sighting at Ebrahim Community College in East London after the Asar (late afternoon) prayer at 7.30 PM (BST). I traveled from York to attend that seminar which was over a 500 miles round trip. Since the above seminar was arranged at short notice, there were not as many people as we had expected (compared to previous seminars held in other areas of London). However, we were very pleased to have attendees from some eminent scholars (see list below), who wanted to understand the problem so that they can help solve the problem of multiple start dates of Ramadan/Eids as well, Insha-Allah. The seminar was concluded before the Magrib (sunset) prayer and after the prayer eight of was climbed to the rooftop of the college to attempt sighting the Hilal (crescent moon), to practice upon the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The seminar attendees who took part in the above observation were following persons (from left to right: (1) Muhibur Rahman, (2) Shaykh Sulayman Gani (who was explaining that in London the moon sets on the left side of the sun), (3) Dr Mohammad Iqbal, (4) Dr Abul Kalam Azad, (5) myself (Qamar Uddin), (6) Shaykh Abdur Rahman Madani, (7) Abdus-Salam and (8) Dr Muhammad Ohidul Alam (who was taking the photograph!). In the bottom photo I was explaining that one of the reasons why we were unable to sight the 33 hours old Hilal in that evening (even though it was on the horizon) was probably due to it being hidden by the strong glare as it was too close to the horizon and the sun (4 degrees altitude). In the mean time Shaykh Sulayman Gani received a few phone calls and advised us that the moon had been sighted in many countries in the East of UK and therefore the Ulamah have decided the month of Rajab 1429 AH will have 29 days and the month of Shaban 1429 AH in UK will start from Sunday 3 August 2008, Insha-Allah."
     

  3. Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Sulayman Gani said: "The observation of the hilal after the magrib salaat was attempted by a group of us including Qamar Uddin from the roof top of Ebrahim Community College situated in East London. The sky was clear but the hilal was not situated. The hilal was hon our horizon for 26 minutes after sunset Other parts of London where the sighting of Hilal was attempted but was Not seen i.e in Tooting(South London) and Walthamstow (North London). However we received the news of positive sightings from countries on the East namely South Africa. May Almighty Allah grant us all the barakah in this blessed month of Sha'baan and let us live to see the month of Ramadaan."

• USA:
  1. Seen: ICOP member Mr. Gulamabbas Khakoo from (Buena Park,CA) said: "Sighted the crescent for the month of Sha'baan here at Buena Park, Zip code 90620; California. local time 8:15pm with naked eye on this Saturday evening of Aug. 2nd, 2008 on left side of Sunset. The top horn was between 12 & 1 O'clock (closer to 12) and bottom horn was between 7 & 8 O'clock (closer to 7). (Buena Park Longitude - W117 59' 41". Latitude - N33 51' 16")"

  2. Seen: ICOP member Mr. Javad Torabinejad from (Blacksburg, VA) said: "This evening (Saturday, Aug 2, 2008), we sighted the moon in Blacksburg, VA. It was first sighted using a pair of binoculars and soon after with naked eye. The first sighting was at 8:33 (sunset, 8:27). The horns were at 1:30 and 6:00 O'Clock."

Saturday 02 August 2008:

1. Saudi
2. UAE
3. Kuwait
4. Qatar
5. Bahrian
6. Palestine
7. Lebanon
8. Syria
9. Libya

Sunday 03 August 2008:

1. Australia
2. Malaysia
3. Oman
4. Jordan
5. Tunis
6. Algeria
7. Morocco
8. South Africa
9. Tanzania
10. UK

Monday 04 August 2008:

1. Pakistan

The geocentric conjunction (Geocentric New Moon) will occur Inshalla on (Friday 01 August 2008) at 10:13 UT.

Thursday 31 July 2008:

• Iran: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Majid Marzani said: "The crescent was seen by naked eyes in Tehran"

• Jordan: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Hussain Khushaish said: "I could see the old moon on the morning of Thursday 31 july 2008 in Jordan when I was trvelling from Kuwat to Lebanon at 4:40 till 4:50 when it disappeared behind a cloud."

• Lebanon: Seen: ICOP member Dr. Raad Ahmad mentioned that he was able to see the crescent by naked eye.

• Algeria: Seen: ICOP member Mr. Bankih Kacem said: "The old crescent of Rajab 1429 was seen from Beni Isguen easyly. It wasn't visible with naked eyes At 05:45LT and with binoculars at 06:00. The sky was hazy."