There are good chances of the moon being sighted for the holy month of Ramazan on Wednesday, March 22, which corresponds to the 29th of Shaban, hence the first day of fasting is likely to be on March 23.
Professor Dr Shahid Qureshi, a well-known astronomical scientist and former chairman of the Department of Astrophysics and Planetary Science of the University of Karachi, told Express News that this year the 'birth' of the Ramazan moon will take place on the night of March 21 at 11:13 pm and will be sighted on the evening of March 22, when the sunset in Karachi will be at 6:43 pm.
He said that at the same time, the crescent moon will remain on the horizon for 47 minutes and will set at 7:30 pm.
It should be remembered that at the time of sunset, the age of the crescent will be 19 hours and 30 minutes, during which the crescent will be 10 degrees above the horizon and about 0.9 percent of the moon will be illuminated, while the distance of the moon from the earth is only 382,000 kilometers.
According to Dr Qureshi, in the light of this data, it will be easy to see the crescent from the southern regions of the country, including Karachi and Gwadar, in the evening of March 22 with binoculars, but it will be a challenge to see such a crescent with the naked eye.
He also said that if the first fast is observed on March 23, then there is no possibility of seeing the Eid moon on the evening of 29th of Ramazan, but if the first fast is observed on March 24, then the Eid moon will be very visible on the evening of 29th of Ramadan.
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