المملكة: From Mount Abu Qubais to Tamir and Sudair… crescent-seeing observatories in the Kingdom
Seeing crescent moons; It is the process of investigating and monitoring the entry of the Hijri months. According to the lunar year, and it is through the Supreme Court, which guarantees the reliability of the visionary with a number of guarantees, including the medical standard for examining the visual acuity of the visionaries; Al-Mutari undergoes a long trial and a medical test to examine visual acuity, and then his papers are presented to the permanent supervisory committee To observe the crescent moon at the Ministry of Justice approved by a royal decree, and its work is monitored by the Minister of Justice.
In addition to sighting, astronomical observatories are also used, in places suitable for sighting the crescent moon during the specified times for observing it after sunset on the twenty-ninth day of the lunar month.
The first astronomical observatory in the Kingdom
The Kingdom witnessed the establishment of the first astronomical observatory in Mecca in 1948 AD; This was on Mount Abu Qubais during the reign of King Abdulaziz. Which recently moved to the clock tower in Mecca.
In 1957, the City International Observatory was established, one of the oldest observatories in Saudi Arabia, and the most important for investigating Mountain peaks west of the city of Mecca, and it was called the Al-Biruni Observatory, after the late scientist Abu Al-Rayhan Muhammad bin Ahmed Al-Biruni, who was famous for his astronomical and geographical research and studies.
Saudi universities were interested in establishing affiliated astronomical observatories, such as the King Saud University Observatory in 1984, and the King Fahd Astronomical Observatory in Al-Ula in 1985, and they contributed, in addition to their role in promoting activities to investigate the vision of… Crescents and their observation, in promoting scientific research in the field of astronomy and space sciences and developing knowledge in this field.
In 2003, Saudi Arabia launched the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Center for Crescents and Astronomy, located at the top of the Mecca Clock Tower, which is the largest network of astronomical telescopes in the world for observing crescents in 7 international countries.
Among the most prominent viewing observatories in the Kingdom are Sudair and Tamir, and other observatories in which the crescent moon is observed. Ramadan, including the observatories of Riyadh, Medina, Qassim, Dhahran, Shaqra, Hail, and Tabuk.
Criteria for the crescent sighting mechanism
The crescent sighting mechanism is; Through the Supreme Court assigning judges to the viewing sites at observatories spread throughout the Kingdom, under the supervision of the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, and in the presence of a number of specialists in astronomy and crescent observing; While Al-Tari sites are selected according to several criteria: To facilitate the sighting process accurately, sighting takes place after sunset on the twenty-ninth day of the lunar Hijri month. If the crescent moon is sighted after sunset on the twenty-ninth day, even by one minute, then the month will be incomplete, meaning 29 days, and that night will be the night of the following month. Sunrise and sunset, the angle between the sun, the intensity of its illumination, and the path of the crescent in the sky with high accuracy, according to celestial coordinates.
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