February 19 is the first day of the astronomical month of Ramadan

The International Astronomy Center confirmed that most countries will observe the crescent of Ramadan on Tuesday, February 17, and based on all criteria for sighting the crescent published in peer-reviewed scientific research, seeing the crescent on this day is either impossible or not possible from all regions of the Arab and Islamic world, whether with the naked eye or using a telescope, or even using ultra-powerful astronomical photography technology.

As for the countries that consider the correct sighting of the crescent moon a condition for the start of the Hijri month, it is expected that Wednesday will be the completion of the month of Shaban, and Thursday, February 19, will be the first day of the blessed month of Ramadan. It is not unlikely that the beginning of the month of Ramadan will be on Wednesday, February 18, in some countries that stipulate other conditions for the start of the month.

The director of the International Astronomy Center, Engineer Muhammad Shawkat Odeh, stated that the moon will set before the sun in the eastern Islamic world, and will set with it in the middle of the Islamic world, and will set a few minutes later in the western Islamic world for an insufficient period, so that the moon will move from the new phase to the crescent phase so that it can be viewed by any visual means.

He stressed that seeing the crescent on Tuesday is not possible even using the latest scientific techniques, as the distance of the moon from the sun at sunset in the best regions of the Arab world is only about two degrees, which is a value that does not allow the crescent to be seen. As for the naked eye, it has not been proven in history to see the crescent correctly when its distance from the sun was less than 7.6 degrees.

He added that the Earth will witness an annular solar eclipse on the same afternoon, seen from southern Africa and Antarctica.

Shawkat continued: “Based on the above scientific and sensory evidence seen with the naked eye on Tuesday, it is necessary to pay attention to the misleading testimonies that may be received on that day, for if they are received they definitively confirm the mistake that some people may make in imagining seeing a crescent that does not exist in the sky, especially since the planet Venus is located to the west, close to the position of the moon, which may cause confusion for the unexperienced and they may think it is the crescent, as we have received from several official committees.” To search for the crescent due to similar incidents that occurred in the past.” He pointed out that “many jurists and astronomers believe that there is no need to search for the crescent after sunset on Tuesday from areas where the moon sets before or with the sun, because the moon is not present in the sky at that time, and therefore seeing the crescent is impossible from these areas, and this is known in advance through definitive scientific calculations.”

On the other hand, the center explained that some Islamic countries will sight the crescent of the month of Ramadan on Wednesday, February 18, as it is the 29th day of the month of Shaban in them. These countries include Bangladesh, Pakistan, Iran, Morocco, Mauritania, and some non-Arab Islamic countries in Africa. In these countries, the beginning of the month of Ramadan will be Thursday, February 19, or Friday, February 20.