Difficult to see crescent on Thursday in Oman: MERA

Business Monday 20/April/2020 13:25 PM
By: Times News Service
Difficult to see crescent on Thursday in Oman: MERA

Muscat: Astronomical calculations show that it is difficult to see the crescent of Ramadan on Thursday, the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs (MERA) announced on Monday and thus Ramadan is likely to start on Saturday in the Sultanate.

The Astronomical Affairs Department of MERA issued a report on the crescent of the month of Ramadan 1441 AH / 2020 which said: "The calculations conducted by the astronomical affairs department at the Ministry show the difficulty of seeing the crescent of the month of Ramadan 1441 AH on Thursday, 29 Shaaban 1441 AH corresponding to April 23, 2020."

According to the report, in the city of Muscat, the moon will be in conjunction on Thursday at 6:26 am local time. The sun sets at 6:32 pm and the moon will descend at 6:53 pm.

"That is, the moon will descend about twenty minutes after sunset, away from the sun by less than 7 degrees, and at a height of 4 degrees from the western horizon, and its brightness is 0.35 per cent. Therefore, the sighting of the crescent of Ramadan 1441 AH on Thursday, Shaaban 29, 1441 corresponding to April 23, 2020 is very difficult," the statement added.