September 17, 2009 11:19 by
philipThe important question of the visibility of the moon will become even more resonant, this weekend, as Muslims around the world look to the skies for a glimpse of the lunar sliver that will signal the end of Ramadan.
This morning I was on the telephone to a devout man in the "naked eye tradition" - those who will only end the fast when the moon has been spotted - who wanted clarification of the moon's rise and set times on the website of Melbourne's Planetarium. Where should he look? When will it rise? At another (American) website a dismal-looking black square signified invisible moons until halfway through the weekend, but the man on the phone insisted that he could see the hint of reflected light, on his own screen, "like a reversed C." I said: "you look with the eyes of faith..."
Photo: James W. Young Source: NASA/courtesy of nasaimages.org
Īd mubārak!
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