Rare moon sighting image captured in UAE, to mark end of Islamic month

Abu Dhabi: Despite hazy and partly cloudy conditions, astronomers at  Al Khatm Astronomical Observatory, part of the International Astronomy Center, succeeded Friday morning in photographing the faint crescent of the waning moon marking the end of the Islamic month of Safar (1447 AH). 

The image was captured at 9:30 a.m. local time in Abu Dhabi, with the moon positioned 12 degrees away from the sun. 

Astronomers noted that the lunar “age” at the time of capture was minus 23 hours, meaning the photograph was taken nearly a full day before the moon’s actual astronomical conjunction, or “new moon.”

Astronomers explained that such a sighting  known as the “end-of-month crescent” does not signal the start of a new lunar month, but rather documents the final visibility of the moon before its conjunction with the sun.