Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim
(In the Name of ALLAH, THE MOST BENEFICENT, THE MOST MERCIFUL)

ISLAM, ASTRONOMY, HILAL (Crescent Moon), NEW MOON, and CYBERSPACE
*** http://www.HILAL-SIGHTING.COM ***
Copyright © 1987-2009, [New Homepages from Columbia University, NY, U.S.A.]


Dr.Mohib.N.DURRANI, E-Mail: Durrani@Hilal-Sighting.Com
OR E-Mail: mnd0@columbia.edu
North American Coordinator (Since 1987), for Astronomical Information
Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), Copyright © 1987-2006
New Homepage: http://www.Hilal-Sighting.Com (Since Ramdan 1423 AH, 2002 CE)
The above is the new home from: http://www.columbia.edu/~mnd (1990-2002 CE)
Please send both Hilal Sighting and Non-Sighting Reports to: E-Mail: Hilal'at'Hilal-Sighting'dot'Com
(Please substitute for 'at' and 'dot' in email address)

As Salaamu (Peace) Alykum (on all) and Welcome.

These homepages are your link to some of the latest astronomical information on Hilal (Crescent Moon) Sighting and New Moon Data, in USA/Canada and around the world. (These homepages are under continuous improvement.)

May Allah (swt) Bless and Reward all those who try and sight the Hilal (Crescent Moon), amin.

Click here for Estimated start of Islamic Months based on actual sighting of a Hilal for North America.

24 Sep 2009 CE, 02:00
As Salaamu Alykum to all,
I have analyzed in greater detail the Hial sighting report of Sat 19 Sep 2009 from Metairie (near New Orleans), Louisiana.
I have also updated the diagram of the location of the Crescent Moons from various places.

ASTRONOMICAL INFORMATION (USNO):
At Metairie, Louisiana (near New Orleans):
Local Time = UT - 5 Hours

On Saturday 19 September 2009:

Sunset: 19:01 (local time)
MoonSet: 19:23 (local time)

LOCATION OF HILAL at Local Sunset:
Moon Altitude = 4.6 degrees (Height above horizon)
Moon Azimuth = - 16.0 degrees (Horizontal distance from Sun)
[LEFT of the Sun]

ORIENTATION (shape) OF HILAL:
(Start, middle, end of Curvature of Crescent Moon)
Start: ~ 2 O'Clock,
Middle: ~ 4 O'Clock,
End: ~ 8 O'Clock

Imagine a Clock in the sky,
12 O'Clock is UP, 3 O'Clock is to the RIGHT, 6 O'Clock is DOWN, 9 O'Clock is to the LEFT

HILAL SIGHTING MODEL INFORMATION:
On Saturday 19 September 2009:

Probability of Sighting at Metairie, Louisiana: Between "Difficult" and "Very Difficult"

Probability of Sighting at Metairie, Louisiana, compared to other places:
Similar to Houston, Texas
Similar to San Diego, California
A Little Lower than Miami, Florida
Much better than Chicago, Illinois, (Impossible to Sight around Chicago)

INFORMATION FROM HILAL REPORT:
Two Muslims (one was an Imam and the other who is in an Astronomy Club) were at Metairie, Louisiana and had sighted the Hilal.
The Imam had first sighted the Hilal with Binoculars (10x), then both of them sighted the Hilal with unaided eyes.

The Imam had "DARK-ADAPETED" his eyes by closing them for about 30 minutes from before Maghrib (Sunset).

The Western sky was very cloudy.

According to witness's watch:
Local Sunset: 7:07 pm
Hilal Sighted: 7:24 pm (for about a minute, ending 7:24 pm)

Location of Hilal:
LEFT of the Sun
LOW in the Sky

Orientation (shape) of Hilal:
Start: ~ 2 O'Clock
Middle: ~ 5 O'Clock
End: ~ 7 O'Clock


ANALYSIS OF HILAL SIGHTING REPORT:
Location of Hilal:
The Hilal should be to the LEFT of the Sun and was reported to be to the LEFT of the Sun.
The Hilal should be LOW in the sky when it would be Sighted and it was reported to be LOW in the sky (near the horizon).
Hence the reported Location of the Hilal is acceptable.

Orientation of the Hilal:
The Curvature of Hilal (Crescent Moon) should be from about
Start at ~ 2 O'Clock
Middle at ~ 4 O'Clock and
End at ~ 8 O’Clock and
the report had nearly the same orientation.
Hence the Orientation of the Hilal is acceptable.

Sunset Time:
The Sunset time should be 19:01 (7:01 pm) but
the watch of the witness showed 7:07 pm (19:07), hence the witness's watch was 6 minutes fast.

Hilal Observation time:
Hilal was observed at 7:24 pm, according to witness's watch, hence the correct time that the Hilal was observed was 7:18 pm (= 7:24 minus 6 minutes).

Moonset Time was 19:23 (7:23 pm).
Hence the Hilal sighting was BEFORE Moonset (by 5 minutes).

The altitude at the time of sighting the Crescent is quite low and close to the horizon!

The Imam mentioned that he had "DARK-ADAPTED" his eyes hence it is possible that he could have seen the low Crescent.

The Hilal Sighting Model for Metairie, Louisiana gives nearly the same probabilities for sighting the Crescent moon as for Houston as well as for San Diego.

I am waiting for any additional information from the two witnesses and when I receive it I will also post that to my website, inshallah.

Mohib.
20 Sep 2009 CE, 12:20
As Salaamu Alykum to all,

I just received the following email from the Imam (near New Orleans):

"asalaamu alaikum wa rahmatAllahe wa barakatu my dear brother Dr Durrani,

"May Allah accept all of your deeds this Ramadan and multiply them on your scale of good on the day of judgment! Ameen!

"Before Maghrib, I instructed one brother to watch the exact location of the sunset. I had my eyes closed for 30 mins prior to maghrib and avoided looking at any bright lights.

"After Maghrib, myself and Brother AbdulBasit, who belongs to an astronomy club and is very experienced in these matters, took a strong Meade telescope and binoculars which zoomed in 10x.

"I was watching around the area where the sun set and it was very cloudy. A slightly bright spot showed through one of the clouds to the left of the sun and i scanned it with the binoculars and it was clearly the hilal. I then pointed to it and br. AbdulBasit saw it with his naked eyes and I also could still see it without the binoculars for an entire minute before it again hid behind the clouds. We also had a group of kids from the masjid who saw it.

"The time was 7:24 PM according to my watch but actually my watch turned out to be 2 minutes faster then satelite time so it was 7:22 PM.

"jazakAllah khayr and may Allah make it a blessed Eid for us all. ameen

"your brother,

"Omar"
19 Sep 2009 CE, 21:00, Updated 20 Sep 2009 CE 22:00br>
As Salaamu Alykum to all,

I just received a telephone message from Imam O.S. (details not given for privacy) of Masjid Abu Bakr Al-Siddique, Metairie, LA. The Imam along with Br. Abdul Basit had seen the Hilal of Shawwal (Correction: NOT Shaban) after Sunset.

They first saw the Hilal via binoculars.

The local Sunset was at 7:07 pm and the Hilal was sighted for about a minute to 7:24 pm. The location of the Hilal was low in the sky and was to the LEFT of the Sun that had already set. The shape (orientation) of the Hilal was from about 2 O'Clock through 5 O'Clock to about 7 O'Clock.

I confirm that this Hilal Sighting is Authentic astronomicallay in terms of the orientation. The difference in Moonset time from the Sunset time is calculated to be around 22 minutes. This additional note (authenication) has been added to make it further clear, inshallah. The Imam had DARK-ADAPTED his eyes by NOT looking at bright lights from before Maghrib.

More details will follow later, inshallah.

EID MUBARAK TO ALL!

Mohib.
19 Sep 2009 CE, 20:00
As Salaamu Alykum to all,

The attached gives info on Probabilities of Hilal Sighting for USA/Canada. As can be seen, a Hilal can be sighted ("Difficult" to "Very Difficult"), only in the southern states (Florida, Texas, southeren California, etc.), inshallah.


Mohib.
17 Sep 2009 CE, 16:00
I will like to see a systematic process established for reporting Hilal Sightings. Of course, we can report our sightings to ICOP at:
ICOP Observation Report Form.

In addition, I do hope that if anyone reports to their Qadi (judge) that they have "sighted" a Hilal, especially from Makkah and any other place where it is predicted that it is very difficult / impossible to sight a Hilal, on the evening of Sat 19 Sep 2009 the witness will be requested by the Qadi for additional information on at least the following:

1) Exact location of the witness when the Hilal was "seen"
2) Was the Hilal "seen" with unaided eyes or via binoculars or via a telescope
3) How high (above the local horizon), in angular degrees, was the Hilal when it was "seen"
4) How much (angular degrees) to the left/right of the Sun was the Hilal when it was "seen"
5) What was the Orientation of the Hilal when it was "seen" (see note below for Orientation).
6) What were the Meteorological conditions (pressure, temperature, Relative Humidity)
7) Was the sky clear/hazy/cloudy in the direction of the Crescent Moon
8) When was the time of Local Sunset
9) When was the first time that the Hilal was "seen"
10) When was the time that the Hilal was last "seen"

Note: For the Orientation of the Hilal, we imagine a fictitious clock in the western sky (with 12 O'Clock to the top, 3 O'Clock to the right, 6 O'Clock to the Bottom and 9 O'Clock to the left) the report must state where one end of the "horns' of the Crescent is located (ex. 2 O'Colock), where the middle of the Crescent is located (ex. 4:30 O'Clock) and where the other end of the "Horn" of the Crescent is located (ex. 7 O'Clock).

The above information would help to provide an astronomical authentication of any report, inshallah.
17 Sep 2009 CE, 07:00
Revised 17 Sep 2009 CE, 09:30
As Salaamu Alykum to all,

I have received some questions as to why I state below that:
"Please note that it is IMPOSSIBLE for a Hilal to be seen from Makkah in the evening of Saturday 19 September 2009."

There are many factors that affect the actual sighting of a Hilal (visible Crescent Moon).

The predominant (most important) factor is the Altitude (height) of the Hilal above the local horizon!
If the Crescent Moon is comparatively "old" (age after Astronomical New Moon) then the Elongation (angular distance of the Moon from the Sun) would be comparatively large (> 10 degrees).
But, if the Altitude (height) of that particular Crescent Moon is low (< 5 degrees) then there is not enough brightness of the Crescent Moon to overcome the brightness of the twilight sky near the Sun and hence the Crescent Moon would NOT be visible even though the Moon is above the local horizon!

The difference in the time of local Sunset and Moonset is not the most important parameter. This is because when the Crescent Moon is low in the sky and yet if the angular distance (elongation) away from the Sun is large (> 10 degrees), it would take a "long" time for the Moon to set after Sunset but the Moon would be low in the sky (with bright twilight sky) and yet the Moon will not be visible.

Similarly, the AGE of the Moon (time of local Sunset from the time of the Astronomical New Moon), is also NOT that important. The Age of the Moon affects the Elongation (angular distance of the Moon from the Sun). But the Age of the Moon alone does NOT guarantee the required minimum Altitude (height) of the Crescent Moon above the local horizon is sufficiently large to overcome the twilight brightiness of the sky.

Now we will see some details of the Location of the Crescent Moon on the evening of Saturday 19 September 2009 at Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

In my webpage (http://www.Hilal-Sighting.Com), when you look at the diagram for Shawwal (http://www.hilal-sighting.com/20090919-Crescent-Moon-Locations-Shawwal-1430AH), for Makkah on the evening of Saturday 19 September 2009, you will note that at the time of local Sunset the altitude of the Moon is less than 4 degrees!

This is too low a Crescent Moon to overcome the background light of the twilight sky!

If we hold our hand in front of us and when we streteh ONE (1) finger out (horizontally) the one finger makes only about ONE-AND-A-HALF (1-1/2) degrees of angle, on the average, at our eye!

The less than 4 degrees above the horizon would be less than THREE (3) finger widths high.

Please make an effort this evening and every evening until Sat 19 Sep 2009 to particularly note the brightness of the twilight sky (near the setting Sun) at an altitude (height) of less than 4 degrees (less than 3 finger widths, the fingers kept horizontally at a distance of a fully extended arm before our eye). You will realize how difficult it is to see anything that is so low in the sky with the bright twilight brightness.

Please also note that as time goes on (after local Sunset) the Crescent Moon keeps becomming lower and lower in the sky.

Hence, in my humble opinion, the Crescent Moon will NOT be visible from Makkah on the evening of Saturday 19 September 2009.

I hope this answers your questions. If you have further questions please do not hesitate to let me know.

Your brother in Islam,
Mohib.
16 Sep 2009 CE, 11:00
As Salaamu Alykum to all,

Ramadan Mubarak and may Allah swt accept all our devotions and Grant us Forgiveness, Blessings, and Rewards, amin.

Please see the details in the diagram below for information on Hilal Sighting for Shawwal 1430 AH in the evenings of Fri/Sat/Sun 18/19/20 Sep 2009 CE for Makkah (Saudi Arabia), San Diego (USA), Cape Town (South Africa) and Perth (Australia).

Please note that it is IMPOSSIBLE for a Hilal to be seen from Makkah in the evening of Saturday 19 September 2009.
A Hilal could be seen in south-western USA in the evening of Sat 19 Sep 2009.
There is a good probability that a Hilal would be visible from Perth, Austrailia in the evening of Sat 19 Sep 2009, inshallah.
There is a very good probability that a Hilal would be visible from Cape Town, South Africa in the evening of Sat 19 Sep 2009, inshallah.

Also note that it is IMPOSSIBLE for a Hilal to be sighted anywhere in the world in the evening of Fri 18 Sep 2009, the Moon sets BEFORE the Sun!

Mohib.



The following is a World Map (relief) with Hilal Visibility curves generated by Dr.vanGent based on Dr. B. Yallop's model for Sat 19 Sep 2009, Shawwal 1430AH

A previous diagram can be seen at:


31 Aug 2006 CE
Revised 24 Sep 2006 CE

Please note that the Islamic Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA) has suggested
Islamic Dates (1427-1432AH: 2006-2011CE)
based on a "Generic Criteria",
INDEPENDENT OF ACTUAL HILAL SIGHTINGS.
The FCNA has applied this "generic criteria" to North America.

The details can be seen by clicking here, on this line.

Further details can be seen by clicking here, on this line.

[Dr.Mohib. Durrani's opinion: The above "generic criteria" is quite general
and can be applied equally to both North and South America.
This "generic criteria" has absolutely NO CONSISTENT CORRELATION
to actual Hilal sightings within North America.]

================================================================================================================

You can obtain a one-page printout of the HILAL REPORTING FORM at this link. HILAL (Crescent Moon) SIGHTING REPORT *** http://Hilal-Sighting.Com *** Dr. Mohib. N. Durrani (c) 1987-2005

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim
(In the Name of ALLAH, THE MOST BENEFICENT, THE MOST MERCIFUL)

HILAL (Crescent Moon) SIGHTING REPORT
*** HILAL-SIGHTING.COM ***; Copyright (c): 1400-1426 AH (1987-2005 CE)
11:00 pm EST, 31 Oct 2004; Revised: 1 Ramadan 1426 AH, 10:50 am EST, 05 Oct 2005 CE
As Salaamu Alykum to all,
I will like to emphsize the IMPORTANCE OF REPORTING BOTH POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE (NO-SIGHTINGS) HILAL SIGHTING REPORTS to our respective Islamic Centers and to the Central North American Coordinating Committee of THE ISLAMIC SHURA COUNCIL OF NORTH AMERICA. The Hilal-Sighting report information can be telephoned to THE ISLAMIC SHURA COUNCIL OF NORTH AMERICA at (317) 839-1803and/or it can also be faxed at (317) 839-1840. It is a good idea to have this form ready, before reporting the Hilal Sighting, and WRITE DOWN THE INFORMATION AS YOU ARE OBSERVING. ENJOY THE HILAL. Mohib.PS: You can also email me at E-Mail: mnd0@columbia.edu

  1. YOU: Name: Last_______________,First______, Age (approx) ______Yrs, Male/Female: ___
    Tel Home: (____) ____-________, Cell: (____) ____-________, Masjid: (____) ____-________
  2. PLACE: Your City:________________, State:___. (Latitude___.__ N & Longitude____.__ W)
  3. DATE OF SIGHTING: Date: ___, Month: ______, Year: _____; Time of Report: ____:____ pm
  4. SUNSET: Local Sunset time: ____:____ pm, Direction of Sunset: West (Yes/No): _____
  5. HILAL VISIBLE TIME: Hilal was FIRST visible: ___:___ pm;
    HIlal was last seen (disappeared): ___:___ pm.
  6. HILAL POSITION above Local Horizon: (you can even make an approximate sketch)
    a. First Height of the Hilal: ________ (finger widths at arm's length OR degrees)
    b. Last Height of the Hilal (disappeared): ________ (fingers/degrees, circle ONE)
    c. Horizontal Distance from the Sun (Sun had already set): Right?/Left? ________ (fingers/deg)
    [Vertical angles: Width of your horizontal fingers, kept at an arm's length from your eye.]
  7. ORIENTATION OF THE HILAL: (you can even make an approximate sketch)
    Hilal curve: Started at____ O'Clock, Middle was at____ O'Clock, Ended at____ O'Clock.
    [Imaginary Clock in Sky: 12 O'Clock at TOP, 3 O'Clock at RIGHT, 6 O'Clock at BOTTOM]
  8. WESTERN SKY: Clear: ___, Hazy: ___, Partly Cloudy: ___, or Cloudy: ___, Other: ________
  9. HILAL MOVEMENT: Down Right: ___, Vertically Down: ___, Down Left: ___, Up: ___.
  10. OPTICAL AIDS:
    a. Hilal visible to the Unaided Eyes: Yes: _____, No: ___
    b. If Binoculars ___, Hilal visible : Yes: _____, No: ___; Diameter: _____ mm, Magnification: ____ X; Time visible:___:___pm
    c. If Telescope ___, Hilal visible : Yes: _____, No: ___; Diameter: _____ mm, Magnification: ____ X; Time visible:___:___pm.
  11. NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN YOUR GROUP: Number of Others: SAW the Hilal: _____, did NOT SEE the Hilal: _____.
  12. YOUR EXPERIENCE: First Hilal: ____, Many Hilals sighted: ____, (how many: _____).

    ================================================================================================================


    The following are summaries of Hilal reports (and authenticaion), estimated dates of major Islamic months, and monthly probabilities of Hilal-Sighting for each Islamic year.
    1. The following links are for Hilal reports and authentication of results for each Islamic year:
      Hilal Reports and results for 1425 AH (2004 CE TO 2005 CE)
      Hilal Reports and results for 1424 AH (2003 CE TO 2004 CE)
      Hilal Reports and results for 1423 AH (2002 CE TO 2003 CE)
      Hilal Reports and results for 1422 AH (2001 CE TO 2002 CE)

    2. The following links are for summary of estimated dates of major Islamic months for each Islamic year:
      **** 1424 AH (2003 to 2004 CE) Dates for Ramadan, Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Adha (expected) ***
      **** 1423 AH (2002 to 2003 CE) Dates for Ramadan, Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Adha (expected) ***
      **** 1422 AH (2001 to 2002 CE) Dates for Ramadan, Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Adha (expected) ***
      **** 1421 AH (2000 to 2001 CE) Dates for Ramadan, Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Adha (expected) ***

    3. The following links are for the monthly probabilites of Hilal-Sighting for each Islamic year:
      Hilal Reports and results for 1425 AH (2004 CE TO 2005 CE)

    The following link is for the consolidated dates for 15 years:
    ***** Hilal Sighting USA/Canada, Expected Dates 1410-1426 AH (1990-2005 CE) *****

    The homepage is organized into the following categories:
    1. Introduction to Islam (MSA Columbia Univ Webpages)
    2. ISNA webpage, ISLAMIC SOCIETY of NORTH AMERICA
    3. QIBLA DIRECTION (Prayers), A Mathematical Determination
    4. QIBLA DIRECTION - SUN ABOVE/BELOW KABAH.
      ABOVE KABAH: 28 May 9:18 am UT and on 15 Jul 9:27 am UT
      BELOW KABAH: 13 Jan 9:29 pm UT and on 28 Nov 9:09 pm UT
    5. FACE TOWARDS THE KABAH (QIBLA DIRECTION)
      (Which direction is it ?)
    6. Islam and the Lunar Calendar
    7. HINTS to Sight the Hilal, Crescent Moon
    8. Possible ORIENTATIONS of a Hilal (Crescent Moon).
    9. Was the Hilal of the 1st. Really of the 2nd. ??
    10. HILAL (Crescent Moon) Visibility QUESTIONEER, PLEASE FILL EVERY MONTH
    11. List of Worldwide Critical Sightings.
    12. THE RULES OF THE UMMUL QURA CALENDAR ?
    13. EDUCATION FOR HILAL SIGHTING (Zul-Hajj 1423 AH, 2003 CE)
    14. Islamic Crescents' Observation Project (ICOP), Excellent Resource.
    15. Dr.Salman Shaikh: Which Hilaal (Islamic Crescent) to Follow? Excellent Analysis and Solutions.
    16. Dr.Monzur Ahmed's Excellent Internet Astronomy/Islam Resources
    17. The Hilal Sighting Committee's excellent webpages
    18. Mr.Khalid Shaukat's Excellent Internet Astronomy webpages
    19. Dr.Robert Harry van Gent's Excellent Hilal Visibility Maps (based on Dr.B.Yallop) "Predicting the First Visibility of the Lunar Crescent
    20. HM Nautical Alamanac Office, Websurf "Global First Sighting of New Crescent Moon"
    21. South African Muslim HomePage of Jamiatul Ulama
    22. Online Weather Maps
    23. Online Data, US Naval Obsevatory

    Please link to "Latest Hilal Sightings Link" (link above), for the latest information and Astronomical Positions and times of Hilal/Sun for various months, and announcements etc. : 

     Look for the HILAL (Crescent Moon)                        ------->     )    
   It is one of the Most BEAUTIFUL of Creations              ------->     )
     Then offer an INTENSE PRAYER to the ONE CREATOR, OF ALL  ------->     )
       Surely, ALL SINCERE PRAYERS ARE ACCEPTED               ------->     )
           Homepage: http://Hilal-Sighting.Com              ------->     )