Weather of Arabia - Arab countries differed in their announcement of the beginning of the month of Ramadan , as countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Egypt began their fasting on March 11th , while other countries such as Oman and Jordan began their fasting on the following day , March 12th .
As the beginning of the month of Shawwal approaches this year, it seems that this disagreement will turn into an agreement, as the Arab countries are expected to agree on a unified date for Eid al-Fitr. To understand the astronomical aspect of this agreement, we can begin by understanding the shape of the moon’s cycle around the Earth.
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When we raise our eyes to the sky at night, we see the moon's shapes gradually change, from crescent to gibbous, square, and full.
These changes are the result of the reflection of sunlight on the moon, and occur due to its rotation around the Earth.
You can easily monitor this cycle from your home. Simply go up to the roof of your house at the same time every day and look at the position of the moon in the sky, and you will notice that it moves and changes its place day after day, as it is close to the horizon when it rises at the beginning of the Hijri month, then it gradually rises as the moon passes by. the days.
Now let us imagine a moment that we are theoretically able to go back in time day after day. This means that the moon will gradually return to stand precisely next to the sun in the sky. This moment is known in astronomy as the moment of central conjunction. After this moment, the moon begins to gradually move away from the sun in the sky.
At first, the moon cannot be seen easily; Because it is very close to the sun, but after about 14 hours of central conjunction , the naked eye can see the moon in the sky after sunset.
Sighting the crescent depends, according to Islamic law, on the efforts of specialists in the relevant legal bodies, who search for the crescent of the month of Ramadan after sunset on the twenty-ninth day of Ramadan. If they succeed in seeing the crescent, the next day will be the beginning of the new month (Shawwal), and if they do not succeed The next day will complete the month of Ramadan.
This year, the moment of central conjunction for this month will be on Monday, April 8, at 21:22 Mecca time.
This means that for the countries that will go out to see the crescent on April 8, such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt, it is not possible to see the crescent in the first place, because it will have set before sunset in the first place , which means that Tuesday, April 9, will be declared the completion day of the month. Ramadan, and Wednesday, April 10, the first day of Eid al-Fitr.
As for the countries where the crescent will be sighted on April 9, such as Jordan and Oman, at the moment of sighting, almost a full day will have passed since the birth of the new moon, which gives those countries a great opportunity to observe the crescent and announce the next day (which will be April 10). In this case) the beginning of the month of Shawwal and the first day of Eid al-Fitr.
In an official statement, the National Institute for Astronomical and Geophysical Research in Egypt announced that the sunset of the moon before the sun in the Arab countries that came out to view on April 8 makes the ninth day of April a continuation of the month of Ramadan.
The International Astronomy Center agrees with this statement, as the calculations announced indicate that seeing the crescent on April 8 is impossible in all Arab countries due to the occurrence of surface conjunction after sunset, but it is possible with the naked eye and easily on April 9.
Following this statement, it appears that there is a great opportunity this year for the Arab countries to agree on the date of Eid al-Fitr , which will be on April 10, 2024.
Read also:
Saudi Arabia | Ramadan began on Monday and will end on Tuesday. When will Eid al-Fitr 2024 be?
Sources:
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