Seeing the crescent of Shawwal on Wednesday is impossible… and Eid al-Fitr is Friday, March 20, astronomically

The Director of the International Astronomy Center, Engineer Muhammad Shawkat Odeh, explained that some countries that began the month of Ramadan on Wednesday, February 18, 2026 AD, will observe the Eid crescent on Wednesday, March 18, while countries that began the month of Ramadan on Thursday, February 19, will observe the Eid crescent on Thursday, March 19, corresponding to the twenty-ninth of the month of Ramadan therein, stressing that seeing the Shawwal crescent on Wednesday, March 18 is impossible for the moon to set before The sun and the conjunction occurs after sunset, and therefore these countries are supposed to complete the month of Ramadan in thirty days, so that Friday, March 20, will be Eid al-Fitr in them.

Shawkat said: “For the countries that will investigate the crescent on Thursday, March 19, seeing the crescent on that day is not possible from the East of the world, while it is possible with difficulty using a telescope from West Asia, Central and North Africa, and it is possible with the naked eye with great difficulty from Western Europe and West Africa, and seeing the crescent is possible with the naked eye relatively easily from most of North America. Therefore, it is expected that the majority of these countries will declare that Friday, March 20 is Eid al-Fitr in them as well, and given the difficulty of seeing the crescent on Thursday from places A large number of countries in the Islamic world, especially in the East and Middle East, are expected to announce that the sighting of the crescent moon on Thursday has not been confirmed, so that Saturday, March 21, will be Eid al-Fitr.
He added: “With regard to the position of the crescent on Thursday, March 19 in some international cities, the surface calculations of the crescent at sunset are that the moon will set in Jakarta 10 minutes after sunset, and its age is 11 hours and 23 minutes, and its distance from the sun is 5.2 degrees, and viewing is not possible even using a telescope, while the moon will set in Abu Dhabi 29 minutes after sunset, and its age is 14 hours and 12 minutes, and its distance from the sun is 6.6 degrees, and seeing is possible. With great difficulty using only a telescope and in a completely clear atmosphere.
Shawkat continued: “In Riyadh, the moon sets 30 minutes after sunset, its age is 14 hours and 38 minutes, and its distance from the sun is 6.9 degrees, and viewing is possible with difficulty using a telescope only when the atmosphere is completely clear, and in Amman and Jerusalem: the moon sets 36 minutes after sunset, its age is 15 hours and 07 minutes, and its distance from the sun is 7.3 degrees, and viewing is possible using a telescope only if the atmosphere is clear, and it also sets. The moon is in Cairo 35 minutes after sunset, its age is 15 hours and 19 minutes, and its distance from the sun is 8.6 degrees, and viewing is possible using a telescope only if the atmosphere is clear.

He pointed out that the moon will set in Rabat, 44 minutes after sunset, and its age is 17 hours and 11 minutes, and its distance from the sun is 7.4 degrees, and seeing with the naked eye is possible with great difficulty in the case of complete atmospheric clarity, and in Amsterdam: The moon will set 57 minutes after sunset, and its age is 16 hours and 23 minutes, and its distance from the sun is 8.4 degrees, and seeing is possible using a telescope, and it may be possible with the naked eye with great difficulty. When the atmosphere is completely clear.

Shawkat pointed out that to know the meanings of these numbers, it is worth noting that the lowest values ​​for the crescent that could be seen with the naked eye were: the crescent’s duration was 29 minutes, the crescent’s age was 15 hours and 33 minutes, and the angular distance from the sun was 7.6 degrees. It is not sufficient for the crescent’s duration, age, or angular distance to exceed these values ​​to enable it to be seen, as the sighting of the crescent is related to interconnected factors that must be studied together, such as its angular distance from the sun and its distance from the horizon.