and direct feed
to investigate Hilal Shawwal (Eid) on its website, which is a first in the Arab
world.
This broadcast
allows the opportunity for anyone interested to follow the emergence of Shawwal
Crescent on that day either during daytime or after sunset.
Specialized
monitoring teams will be observing it through astronomical photography from
Oman, Jordan, and Tripoli in Libya, according to the statement in Al-Bayan
Emaratie newspaper.
The teams will
broadcast live what shows on their computer screen until sunset and the setting
of the moon on the Islamic Crescents' Observation Project website on www.icoprject.org .
Engineer
Mohammed Shaukat Oudeh, head of Islamic Crescents' Observation Project,
explained that method of astrophotography is capturing a large number of images,
through the telescope, of the area of the Crescent, up to 300 pictures.
These images are then inserted into a computer, to be
put on top of each other to improve the picture. The observer may not see the
Crescent and may need to modify the values of contrast in the picture by a
specialized program on the computer to show it.
Oudeh considered the astronomical imaging technique a
new revolution in observation, saying they are "more powerful than the
telescope in the observation of the Crescent, even in broad daylight, which is
impossible with the naked eye or even a telescope".
He explained that the sighting on Wednesday is not
possible in the Arab world, either visually or using a telescope, and can only
be done during the day using astronomical photography with a clear atmosphere,
which is a real challenge for astronomers after sunset even using this
technique from the northern and central parts of the Arab world, while it may
be observed for a period of one to five minutes from Mecca, assuming weather
conditions are favorable.
Jurists have not resolved their opinion regarding this
technology, some of them approved others opted to wait until these techniques
are better studied.
This technique is
available in five Arab countries only; it is used officially in Sultanate of
Oman and Libya, while it is used by private sectors in the UAE, Jordan and
Saudi Arabia.