After the sun sets on the night of February 28, the 29th day of Shaaban month in the Hijri calendar, moon sighters face west with a clear view of the horizon for a first glimpse of the crescent moon.

Initially, this challenge was approached geometrically, with the Babylonians proposing that the crescent would be visible if the angle between the moon and the sun exceeded 12 degrees.

The sky was slightly dusty. Afternoon update: By 3:15pm UAE time, the moon’s distance from the sun increased to 6.5 degrees, with an age of 9 hours and 37 minutes.