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The new crescent moon of Shawwal 1431 has been seen as far east as Australia, marking the end of Ramadan and the beginning of Shawwal and the festival of breaking fast Eid Al-Fitr. I will be updating this post as the evening progresses with photos from our local area. Please come back here again. For the reports from other locations you can check Here at Crescent Watch and also Here at the Australian National Crescent Sighting Coordination Center.

Expect a West Coast update on this site at about 9pm PDT.  Till then go out and look for the crescent moon, its an uplifting experience.  It will be setting approximately 30 minutes after the sun sets, it will be approximately 3 fingers wide above the horizon (about 5° altitude) and about 2 hand spans wide to the left of the sunset point on the horizon (about 24° to the left).  Best time for it to be seen this evening on the West Coast is 7:39 pm PDT.

Stay tuned.

Update:

The new crescent moon was sighted by yours truly along with about 30 other Individuals at approximately 7:35 pm PDT from Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve. Eid Al-Fitr has commenced! Eid Mubarak to all Muslim readers. Photos are forthcoming…Stay tuned.

Update:

Here is the image of the new moon for Shawwal 1431.  It was a beautiful evening with over 30 individuals attending the sighting.  Eid Mubarak to all!

Shawwal 1431

New Crescent - Muharram 1431

This evening, in silence, the new Islamic year – 1431 began.  Now I don’t live in the Muslim world so I have never experienced what takes place upon seeing the new moon that ushers in the new Islamic year, but here in the United States, it goes pretty much un-noticed.   In fact if it is not the moon for the start of Ramadan or the moon that ends Ramadan, most Muslims never look into the sky or even bother to notice what the Islamic date is.  For me the new moon is an awaited monthly friend that I have been faithfully visiting for the last twenty years.  For me it is always a joyous event.  And although the moon never seems to be any different, every time it comes around it comes with a different sky as its backdrop.  And so it is always something new to look at.

Muharram Crescent and Clouds

So on this eve of the New Year, I wish all the Muslims a Blessed Muharram, and may the year 1431 be a safe, prosperous, and beneficial year.

Peace to you all.

Wednesday evening marked the beginning of the Hajj, the yearly pilgrimage to Mecca. The moon was stark, the sky was beautiful, and the air was bitterly cold. But when you do what you love, nothing can get in the way.

Dhul-Hjjah Begins

Good luck to all those making the Pilgrimage, may your scarifice be accepted and may you find what you seek.

Venus and the old crescent moon.

When I was young I would sit out on the front porch of our house at night with my mother, God rest her soul and have mercy on her, which faced east and some times we would see the moon very close to a star.  I would ask my mother about it and she would tell me that that star was the moon’s mother and when the moon was close to it, the moon was visiting its mother.  That story always made me feel close to my mother.  I still recall those days whenever I see the moon close to a prominent star in the sky.

Two mornings ago, I stepped out of my front door, which faces south, and I looked towards the east to estimate how many more days we had left in Ramadan by gauging the size of the crescent moon.  To my surprise it was very close to Venus, the start shown above.  The sky was getting light and I was moved to photograph this pair as they visited each other in the morning sky.

I happend to look to the south and also saw the constellaton Orion, or Musa according to the Muslim Astronomers naming, and its distinctive belt of three stars that I grew up know as The Three Sisters, again named by my mother.

Three Sisters

It has always amazed me how universal the stars are and at the same time how ‘culturalized’ they are at the same time.  Growing up I knew Venus as the Mother of the Moon, and the Belt of Orion as the Three Sisters.  Every cultural or civilization has named the stars by different names and some have crossed over to other cultures.  Of the 57 navigational stars some 18 of them still have Arab names give by the Muslim Astronomers during the Golden Age of Islam.  The list of these stars can be found on Wikipedia at this link.

In a few days the month of Ramadan will have passed and the new crescent moon will make its appearance in the western sky after sunset.  And even though time keeps moving on, the stars, moon and sun will still be there to help us keep track of time and grow richer as they bridge the gaps of culture and the ages.

Did you have any special names for the stars when you were growing up?  I’d love to hear what they were.

A new special workshop is being offered on how to find and photograph the Moon, and in particular, the new crescent moon.  To find out more information and to reigister check the Workshop Page on the Website and Register Today!  Only 19 days left before the next new moon!

Many Moons Ago