The International Astronomy Center published, on Wednesday, the first pictures of the crescent of the month of Ramadan, which begins tomorrow, Thursday, in a number of Arab and Islamic countries, so what is the importance of this picture?
The International Astronomy Center said in a tweet on its official Twitter account that the first image of the crescent of the month of Ramadan was taken on Wednesday morning from the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi.
He explained: “The time of filming is Wednesday, March 22, 2023 AD, at 08:15 am UAE time.”
In a second tweet, the center published a clearer picture of the crescent of Ramadan.
The center said: “A clearer picture of the crescent of the holy month of Ramadan, as it was taken a short while ago from Abu Dhabi, by the Astronomical Seal Observatory of the International Astronomy Center.”
And he continued: “The time of filming is Wednesday, March 22, 2023 AD, at 10:30 am UAE time. The distance of the moon from the sun is 8.2 degrees.”
He added, “It is clearer because of the increasing distance of the moon from the sun and from the horizon.”
And Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Kuwait and Egypt had announced that Wednesday is the completion of the month of Sha`ban, and that Thursday is the first of Ramadan after the crescent of the holy month could not be seen.
The director of the International Astronomy Center, Muhammad Shawkat Odeh, said in an interview with “Sky News Arabia”:
- Tuesday was the 29th of Sha’ban in many Arab and Islamic countries.
- Today, Wednesday, is the 29th of Sha’ban in 14 other Islamic countries, such as Indonesia and Pakistan, and therefore these countries are investigating the crescent today, and Ramadan may begin in these countries on Thursday or Friday, according to the sighting of the crescent.
- The advanced equipment at the center was able to see the crescent during the day.
- The possibility of seeing the crescent of Ramadan, on Tuesday evening, was impossible, in all countries of the Islamic world, because the moon set before the sun at its time.
- The sun rose in the Emirates today at 6:22 minutes in the morning (local time), and the moon rose after that at 6:51 minutes, and it remains present during the day, but because of the sunlight, we cannot see it with the naked eye, but the devices monitor it.