Tuesday, January 20, the beginning of the astronomical month of Shaban

The International Astronomy Center confirmed that Sunday, January 18, will coincide with the 29th day of Rajab 1447 AH in many countries of the Islamic world, and it will be impossible to see the crescent of the month of Shaban from all regions of the Islamic world, due to the setting of the moon before sunset. Accordingly, these countries will complete the number of days of the month of Rajab, 30 days, and Tuesday will be the first day of the month of Shaban in them.

The director of the center, Engineer Muhammad Shawkat, said that there are Islamic countries in which the 29th day of Rajab will be tomorrow, Monday, January 19th, and among these countries are: Pakistan, Iran, Bangladesh, the Sultanate of Oman, Jordan, Syria, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, and Albania. Seeing the crescent of Shaban on Monday is possible in most countries of the Islamic world using a telescope only, with seeing with a telescope being very difficult in Australia, Europe, Asia, and East Africa, as seeing with a telescope becomes possible relatively easily from central West and southern Africa and parts of the Americas.

He continued, “Seeing the crescent moon will be easily possible with the naked eye from the middle of the two American continents only,” expecting that most of these countries will begin the month of Sha’ban on Tuesday, January 20 as well, while in some of them he expected the beginning of Sha’ban to be Wednesday, January 21.

Regarding the position of the crescent on Monday, January 19, in some Arab and Islamic cities, he said that the surface calculations of the crescent at sunset are as follows: In Jakarta, the moon sets 30 minutes after sunset, and its age is 16 hours and 26 minutes. In Abu Dhabi, it sets 35 minutes after sunset, and its age is 17 hours and 56 minutes. In Riyadh, it sets 36 minutes after sunset, and its age is 18 hours and 18 minutes. In Amman and Jerusalem, the moon sets 37 minutes after sunset, and its age is 18 hours and 35 minutes. In Cairo, the moon sets 38 minutes after sunset, and its age is 18 hours and 48 minutes. In Rabat, the moon sets 43 minutes after sunset, and its age is 20 hours and 32 minutes.

He stressed that seeing the crescent from all the previous regions is possible using a telescope only, with the possibility of seeing it with the naked eye with great difficulty from Rabat and the south of the Kingdom of Morocco.

He continued: “To know the meanings of these numbers, it is worth noting that the minimum duration of the crescent that could be seen with the naked eye was 29 minutes, while the minimum duration of the crescent that could be seen with the naked eye was 15 hours and 33 minutes. It is not enough for the crescent’s duration and age to exceed these values ​​to be able to see it, as the visibility of the crescent is related to other factors such as its angular distance from the sun and its distance from the horizon at the time of observing it.”

Shawkat pointed out the possibility of visiting the website of the Islamic Crescent Observation Project of the International Astronomy Center on the Internet at the address (to learn about the results of crescent observation.