Eid Friday or Saturday? A great controversy, multiple opinions, and the weather of the Arabs clarify the facts

The weather of Arabia - Sinan Khalaf - has recently raised a lot of controversy about the date of the start of the month of Shawwal - the first day of Eid Al-Fitr - even among the astronomers themselves, some of whom suggested that Friday, April 21 would be the first day of the month of Shawwal, while others suggested that Saturday, April 22, will be the first day of the month of Shawwal, so what is the secret of this difference and what is the most likely opinion?

In order to answer this question, it is necessary to understand the astronomical and legal data surrounding the investigation process for this year, as astronomical calculations indicate that the central conjunction (the central conjunction) will occur on the morning of Thursday, April 20, 2023 at 07:12 a.m. Saudi time, and the moon will remain in the sky of the observatory. Sudair in the Riyadh region after sunset 24 minutes after sunset, and the crescent will be approximately 13 hours long.

And here comes the paradox and the face of the difference in opinions. From an astronomical point of view, the crescent of the month of Ramadan will have actually been born about 13 hours before sunset, but from a scientific and astronomical point of view it is too small to be seen with the naked eye “legitimate sighting”, and that is because the crescent is close to the sun. Its age and lack of illumination, which is what the International Astronomy Center sees, as it considered seeing the crescent impossible after sunset on Thursday, as shown on the attached map:

However, the extrapolations of the past give different results, as some Al-Tara’i committees in a number of regions of the Kingdom were able to see the crescent in more difficult astronomical conditions. Only, and also in the world 2016, and despite the fact that the crescent stayed on the horizon for 20 minutes and the astronomers declared the impossibility of seeing it, human sighting did indeed take place, and 21 witnesses testified to “sighting the crescent” in Hotat Sudair, Shaqra and Tamir!

It was previously seen in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in similar circumstances by the see-through committees and volunteers in it who are known for their sharpness of sight, so it is expected that the crescent of the month of Ramadan will be sighted by some seers as happened in previous years, and therefore it is likely that Saturday, April 2, will be announced first days of the month of Ramadan, but the decision first and foremost remains in the hands of the Sharia committees and the role of religious worship.