International Astronomical Center

Sunday, 14 November 2004 AD falls upon the First of the days of the month Shawwâl of this year, because the geocentric conjunction of the month Shawwâl 1425 AH will happen on Friday, 12 November at 2:27 pm UT. On that day, sighting of the crescent is impossible from all states of the Islamic world, as moonset [occurs] before sunset. On Saturday, 13 November a sighting of the crescent by means of a telescope can be expected in south-eastern Asia, most of the Gulf states, the countries of al-Shâm, northern Africa, southern Europe, and northern North-America, whereas a sighting of the crescent by naked eyes can be expected in southern [parts of the] Arabian Peninsula, in central and southern [parts of the] African continent, in central and southern [parts of] North-America, and in the South-American continent.

Concerning the moon’s situation at sunset on Saturday in some Arabian and Islamic cities: In the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, the topocentric conjunction (new moon) will happen on Friday evening at 11:17 pm local time, on Saturday the sun will set at 6:58 pm and the moon at 7:40 pm, i.e. the moon will be present in the sky for a period of 42 minutes after sunset; moon age at the moment of sunset will be 19 hours and 41 minutes. Hence, the possibility for a sighting of the crescent by naked eyes in the city Kuala Lumpur on Saturday will be difficult. In the city Makka al-Mukarrama, the topocentric conjunction (new moon) will happen on Friday evening at 6:52 pm local time, on Saturday the sun will set at 5:42 pm and the moon at 6:23 pm, i.e. the moon will stay for a period of 41 minutes after sunset; its age at the moment of sunset will be 22 hours and 50 minutes. Hence, the possibility for a sighting of the crescent by naked eyes in the city Makka al-Mukarrama on Saturday will be difficult. Concerning the city `Ammân, the topocentric conjunction (new moon) will happen on Friday evening at 5:40 pm local time, on Saturday the sun will set at 4:43 pm and the moon at 5:17 pm, this means the moon will be present for a period of 34 minutes after sunset; its age at the moment of sunset will be 23 hours and 3 minutes. Hence, there is only the possibility for a sighting of the crescent with the help of a telescope in the city `Ammân on Saturday. In the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott, the topocentric conjunction (new moon) will happen on Friday evening at 3:08 pm local time, on Saturday the sun will set at 6:27 pm and the moon at 7:19 pm, i.e. the moon will stay for a period of 52 minutes after sunset; its age at the moment of sunset will be 27 hours and 19 minutes. Hence, a sighting of the crescent by naked eyes in the city Nouakchott on Saturday will be easily possible.

Herewith, the Arab Union for Astronomy and Space Sciences calls upon the population to search for the crescent of the month Shawwâl on Saturday, and to report their results to the Union, because since five years the Union publishes every month the observation results of the crescent, and this is done on the Internet at the address http://www.jas.org.jo/icop.html.

We ask the responsible persons in the Islamic states not to call upon the population to search for the crescent on Friday, because the moon on this day sets before the sun in all Islamic states. So what would be the reason for calling upon the population to search for something that is not there? The day on which the crescent should be searched for is Saturday, because on this day the possibility for sighting the crescent varies from a sighting only by means of a telescope to a difficult or easy sighting by naked eyes, in [one or] the other regions.

It is worthwhile to mention the consistency of the observation results of the crescent of the month Ramadân with the previous astronomical calculations, as the astronomical calculations indicated in advance that a sighting of the crescent on Thursday, 14 October would be impossible. In fact, all crescent observers in the Islamic states agreed on the impossibility of a sighting of the crescent on Thursday. Among them were expert astronomers who undertook a search for the crescent of the month Ramadân on Thursday from top of Jabal Shams in the Sultanate of `Oman, whose height is 3000 m asl. They employed three telescopes to search for the crescent, and the crescent was not seen, as could already be expected. Moreover, expert astronomers undertook a search for the crescent from the highest peak of Jabal al-Sharât in Jordan, whose height is 1700 m. They employed two computerized telescopes, and sighting of the crescent was impossible for them. Also moon observers from all over Australia, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Iran, `Iraq, Sa`udi[-Arabia], Kuwayt, Algeria, South Africa, Nigeria and Greece were not capable of sighting the crescent on Thursday, 14 October, as the astronomical calculations had already indicated in advance. Congratulations to the Islamic states, which began their fasting on Saturday based upon a sighting of the crescent, as Brunei, India, Pakistan, Iran, `Oman, South Africa, and a number of other Islamic states. It is possible to take a look upon the detailed observation results of the crescent of the month Ramadân on the site of the Islamic Crescents' Observation Project at the address http://www.jas.org.jo/icop.html.

Translation: Ahmad Kaufmann - Germany

The moon's conjunction will occur on Friday, November 12, 2004, at 14:28 Universal Time, i.e., 9:28 a.m. Eastern Standard Time and 6:28 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. This moon will be 10 hours old at sunset on the West Coast of the U.S. on November 12 and will set almost with sunset. On November 13 it will be easily seen in North America.

All astronomical data indicates that it will be impossible for the crescent to be sighted anywhere in the world on the evening of Friday, November 12. Therefore, Eid-al-Fitr in North America will be on Sunday, November 14, 2004, insha'Allah.

May Allah accept our fasting, qiyam, and bring back these blessed days with peace and spiritual fulfilment. Ameen. Sunday, 14 November is the First Day of Eid Al-Fetr

So far, the earliest sighting of the crescent was on Saturday 13 November from Australia. It was also seen from Brunei, Iran, Jordan, Kenya, Nigeria, Trinidad and USA.

Saturday 13 November 2004:

• Australia
  • ICOP member Mr. Afroz Ali said: Seen. "The moon crescent was sighted in Sydney and Brisbane, Australia, on the evening of 13 November, 2004.

    Therefore the first day of Shawwal in Australia is 14th November, which also coincides with the official statement made two weeks ago"

• Brunei
  • ICOP member Mr. Hazarry Haji Ali Ahmad: Seen. "4 members of the Astronomical Society sighted the 19 hour 42 minutes lunar cresent through 15x100 binocular today (29 Ramadhan). It was very thin and hardly visible to the naked eyes. Festival of Aidifitri commence tommorow and it was also confimed by Syariah Judge after the announcement made through TV and Radio. As reported bt the Survey Department the moon was also sighted from various vintage loctaion to view the moon in this country."

• Iran
  • ICOP member Mr. Mousa Zamani said: Not seen. (Partly Cloudy and Hazy) "Behnam Darvish (My Friend) was also observing beside me and he was not capable of seeing moon,too"

  • ICOP member Mr. Majid Marzani said: Not seen. "The western horizon in tehran was cloudyand rain. but my frinds in kerman and dezful and saravan and takestan and aleshtar seen crescent by binoculars."

  • ICOP member Mr. Amir Hasanzadeh said: Not seen. "For observing the shawwal crescent 5 members of North Star Scientific Research Association had a trip to Qazvin Province in Iran. We used two 20X120 binoculars but It was cloudy and we couldn't observe the crescent moon."

  • ICOP member Mr. Alireza Mehrani said: Seen. "In the sunset of Saturday November 13th, tens of groups tried to do observation of the crescent. Due to the unsuitable condition of the atmosphere many of them failed to succeed. Seven groups succeeded to observe the crescent in various cities in Iran (Bam, Jiroft, Kerman, Fasa, Jahrom, Dezful and Saravan). All the groups who tried to do the observation were equipment with powerful binoculars and various kinds of telescopes. We also had two special observation of the crescent here using the planes. In one of these plans I succeeded to observe the crescent at the height of 38000 ft. in the sky of south of Gazvin observed the crescent using 15x80 binoculars. The amount of " q " parameter was -0.271. Due to the fact that flight was towards west I succeeded to observe the crescent for 25 minutes. The high speed of the plane caused the moonset to be done with delay. Sunday November 14th was announced as the Eid Fitr Day in Iran." The sky in the height of 38000 ft
    The Plane used in the observation

• Iraq
  • ICOP member Mr. Bacil Moudhaffar said: Not seen. (Hazy) "Two of my friends were with me , one of them have (8*30) Binocular but the cresecnt was noot seen."

• Kuwait
  • ICOP member Mr. Hussain Khshaish said: Not seen. (Cloudy) "In Wafra 100 km south of kuwait city I and a group of more than 100 persons COULD NOT sight the crescent even with 20*60 binocular .the western horizon was cloudy up to 10 degrees."

• Saudi Arabia
  • ICOP member Mr. Saleh Al-Saab said: Not seen. (Cloudy) "Happy Eid for you all, all I can say :Science still has no respect in many countries.I wish to know what they had seen In the Friday evening."

  • ICOP member Mr. Anwar Al-Muhammad said: Not seen. "As a two groups we tried to sight the new crescent of Shawwal-1425 in Saturday 13 Nov. One of these consists of about 25 persons did the observation from Jodah (150 km south west Dammam). The western horizon was partially cloudy so they did not see the crescent although they use 4.5" MEADE telescope. The other was at the observatory of Qatif Astronomy Society (QAS) by using the fixed computerized 10” MEADE LX-200 GPS telescope which was well fixed and aligned. It consists of more than 50 persons. Also, the western horizon was not so clear such that the sun disappeared 6 minutes before the actual time. none of them could see the crescent even by the telescope. Some people from nearby areas claim they the visibility of the crescent."

• Jordan
  • ICOP member Dr. Tarek Katbeh: Seen. "6 JAS members (Eng. Tarek Hadi, Dr. Tarek Katbeh, Rodwan Abu hlaleh, Eng. Ahmad Samarah, Mohd Katbeh and a friend) went to observe the crescent at the roof of Tareq Hadi's House in Al-Shmaisani,Amman The capital of Jordan, 953m above sea level. The Meade 10" LX200GPS computerised telescope was aligned and parked from the previous night, at the time of sunset, we turned the telescope on and made sure that the alignment and the focus is correct by directing it to Arcaturus, which was low in the western horizon, and it was directly in the center of the eyepiece, after that we ordered the telescope to move to the moon, the crescent was immediately seen in the center of the eyepiece field at 14:46 LT by Eng. Tareq Hadi, then I was able to see it after him, it was a very thin and hardly seen crescent, to the extant that other members were not able to see it!!" Observers from left to right: Eng. Tarek Hadi, Rodwan Abu Hlaleh, Dr. Tarek Katbeh, Eng. Ahmad Samarah, Mohd Katbeh.
    The Western Horizon after moonset

• Libya
  • Captain salem sahid said: Not seen. place: tripoli - libya, time of magrib : 1810, time of observation : from 1745 till 1830, weather conditions cloudy . we attended today to look for hillal of shawal but the sky was cloudy and we could not see it."

• Algeria
  • ICOP member Mr. Bankih Kacem said: Not seen. "It was partly cloudy with a thick (2°) layer of haze at the western horizon.13 presents in Merkich station have tried to observe the chawal 1425 crescent but it was not seen. Many teams in Ghardaïa district have not observed the crescent."

• Kenya
  • ICOP member Mr. MahmoodAli Essa said: Seen. "Please be informed that the new crescent was easily seen here in kenya today."

• Nigeria
  • ICOP member Mr. Usman Duhhu said: Seen. (Cloudy) "14 of us went to the outskirts of the city,Bauchi, to search for the crescent and we all saw it about 20 minutes after sunset. Even though yesterday was the official eid day most of the people will celebrate theirs tomorrow, in sha Allah."

  • ICOP member Mr. Muhammed Ya'sin Qamardeen said: Not seen. (Cloudy)"Right from around 1600 local time The intercontinental cloudy descend on sokoto sky totally blocking the sun around 1638 till sunset time.Therefore we foud it difficult to observe the shawal hilal here in Sokoto city, at that time I called people at some part of the country and they informed me about this cloud situation.In phone chat with people in lagos indicated that the hilal is not visible, but Dr Uthman Dukku informed me that within the cloudy the new crescent was sighted by about fifteen of the crescent squad at the location.Supreme council for Islamic affair had already claimed on Thursday 11 2004 that hilal was sighted at Abuja, Sokoto,Kebbi."

  • ICOP member Mr. Bashir Muhammad Sani said: Not seen. (Cloudy)

  • ICOP member Mr. Aminu Luqman said: Not seen.

  • ICOP member Mr. Adamu Garba said: Seen.

• Hungary
  • ICOP member Mr. Mustafa Abdallah said: Not seen. (Cloudy)

• Germany
  • ICOP member Mr. Gerhard Ahmad Kaufmann said: Not seen. "Although sighting conditions for Germany were nearly impossible (moonset 14 min after sunset), a patch of clear skies tempted me to try a lookout. Unfortunately, the lower horizon was hazy and some clouds covered the interesting parts of the sky."

• Trinidad
  • ICOP member Dr. Shirin Haque said: Not seen. "There were reliable reports of the crescent being seen from several other locations in Trinidad with the naked eye. Where I was, it was clouded over, so I myself did not see it."

• USA
  • ICOP member Dr. Javad Torabinejad said: Seen. "Using a pair of binoculars, I sighted the moon at 5:09 pm this evening (13th of November) in Blacksburg, VA. My first naked eye sighting was at 5:14, however. The horns were at 1 and 6 O'clock, respectively. The sunset is at 5:13."

  • ICOP member Dr. Muhammad Hafiz said: Seen. "The Hilaal was observed by myself and four others (Dr. Kamo Juman, Fazila Juman, Imran Juman and Roshan Deen Juman) on Saturday 13th November, 2004 at 6:00 PM in Pembroke Pines, Griffin Rd, Florida, USA.

    Sultan Hafiz reported the members of Rose Hall Town Masjid and Islamic Center and himself saw the Hilaal on Saturday, 13th November, 2004 after sunset at 5:35 PM(Guyana Time). He stated the sky was completely clear through out Guyana allowing for all Muslims to observe the Hilaal. He stated they also tried to observe the Hilaal on Friday, 12th November, 2004 but it was not seen"

  • ICOP member Dr. Mohibullah Durrani said: Seen. "Hilal Sighting Report for Shawwal 1425 AH, Date of Hilal Sighting: Sat 13 Nov 2004. Location: Germantown, Maryland, USA, Lat: 39.1882095 Lon: -77.2530136, Sunset Time: 4:57 pm, Western Horizon: Hazy with many contrails from high flying jets, Binoculars: 10x40.

    Hilal Sighting: First sighted with binoculars: 5:15 pm, then First Naked-Eye Sighting: 5:16 pm, Location: About 4-1/5 degrees (3 finger widths) above horizon, Quite an angle to the Left of Sun (Sun had already set). Orientation: 1 O'Clock through 3 O'Clock through 5:30 O'Clock.

    Followed Hilal while setting: As Hilal neared the horizon (into denser haze) the Hilal curvature became slightly jagged just above the lower end and the Hilal also became slightly shorter, possible due to greater absorption of Hilal-sight by the haze."

1. Nigeria (Claim of Sighting!)

Saturday 13 November 2004:

1. Saudi (Claim of Sighting!)
2. Kuwait (Following Saudi)
3. Qatar (Following Saudi)
4. Bahrain (Following Saudi)
5. UAE (Following Saudi)
6. Palestine (Following Saudi)
7. Sudan
8. Libya (After 30 Ramadan)
9. Somalia (Claim of Sighting!)
10. Djibouti
11. Ireland (Following Saudi)
12. Sweden (Following Saudi)

Sunday 14 November 2004 :-

1. Malaysia
2. Indonesia
3. Brunei
4. India
5. Turkey
6. Yemen
7. Iran
8. Iraq
9. Oman
10. Jordan
11. Syria
12. Lebanon
13. Egypt
14. Tunisia
15. Algeria
16. Morocco
17. Kenya
18. Tajekstan
19. Turkmenistan
20. Kazakhstan
21. Uzbekistan
22. Kyrgyzstan
23. Russia
24. France
25. Germany
26. Norway
27. Trinidad
28. USA
29. Canada
30. Guyana

Monday 15 November 2004 : -