Egypt announces possible date for Eid-ul-Azha

The Egyptian Astronomy Institute has announced the possible date for Eid-ul-Azha, one of the largest religious festivals for Muslims.

June 7 will likely be the beginning of the month of Dhu Al Hijjah for the current Hijri year 1445, according to the Institute. Consequently, by astronomical calculations, the first day of Eid-ul-Azha will likely be observed on June 16 (Sunday), Khaleej Times reported.

Dr Taha Rabeh, President of the National Institute for Astronomical and Geophysical Research in Egypt has announced that astronomical calculations conducted by the Institute’s Sun Research Laboratory.

In his statement today, Dr Rabeh detailed that the crescent moon marking the start of Dhu Al Hijjah will be born directly at 2:39pm Cairo time on Thursday (June 6) which corresponds to the 29 of Dhul-Qi’dah.

The crescent will be visible in the sky of Makkah for 11 minutes and in Cairo for 18 minutes after sunset on the same day, known as the sighting day. In the various governorates of Egypt, the crescent will remain visible for periods ranging between 12 and 20 minutes after sunset.

Dr Rabeh also pointed out that the new crescent will be visible after sunset in the skies of several Arab and Islamic capitals and cities for periods ranging from 1 to 28 minutes. However, in Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta, the moon will set 9 and 14 minutes before sunset, respectively, making the crescent invisible in these locations on the sighting day.