Observation Report for Rabi-II 1447 AH

Mr Hameed Mamaniat commented: "I started tracking the moon via telescope at about 10 am from my home address. There were some thin clouds, so I waited until 12.30 pm to observe through the telescope eyepiece. I was able to see the moon visually through the optics (GT71 telescope and 25 mm eyepiece) without issues. Moving the telescope via the software and nudging left/right/up/down makes it more apparent that it is indeed the moon. For the inexperienced eye, it would be hard to detect. I knew what I was seeing was the moon because I centered first using the astrophotography cameras. In the evening, at 5 pm onwards, I set up at Mellor in Blackburn with views of the Fylde Coast. I was able to track the moon on the astro cameras, but could not see it via optical aid because of the haze on the lower horizon. By the time the moon got to 1 degree above the horizon, the astro cameras also couldn't detect it, which meant it was impossible to see via naked eye or optical aid. There were only 4 mins between sunset and moonset, and the moon would have been just 0.5 degrees above the horizon at sunset, so it was virtually impossible. Images from the morning and evening are provided. Note that the crescent shape corresponds to the position of the sun. The sun is in the upper right corner during the day, and almost parallel in the evening. Images taken on GT71 - ASI462MM with 650 nm IR pass filter. My experience has shown that using an 850 nm filter is too aggressive and makes it harder to see. The 650 nm filter is the sweet spot for Infrared imaging during daylight. Guide scope - 50 mm William Optics - ASI462mm, with just a UV/IR cut filter to prevent the camera from reading Infrared, which provides more natural colours. [Note: the astro-cameras use CCD/CMOS sensors for daytime imaging of the moon - Admin]".

Mr Motosir Ali commented: "‎It was partially cloud,y and the moon was very low on the horizon, so we only had a short window of time to look. It was not sighted".

Mr Ashruf Amod commented: "The sky was overcast. It has a clearing on the horizon. The gap fuzzy between cloud and horizon. The crescent was not sighted".

Eng Qamar Uddin commented: "I was able to see the sun before sunset between clouds, but the moon was behind a thick patch of clouds after sunset, so it was not seen. Most of the UK was partly cloudy with some clear patches, but we have not received any sighting reports after sunset (although a couple of people reported seeing it during the daytime with computerized telescopes)".

Mr Hameed Mamaniat commented: "Attempted to sight again today, but I did not see it visually or with optical aid".

Mr Javed Rafiq commented: "Although the skies were mostly clear, there was a light cloud cover near the horizon. The moon was not seen".

Eng Qamar Uddin commented: "I arrived at my usual location about 30 minutes before sunset and was able to see the sunset clearly. However, the moon was about 30° (one hand-span) to the left, which was under a thick bank of dark clouds. Fortunately, a small gap appeared between the clouds soon after sunset (very close to the horizon), and I was able to see the moon with my binoculars behind the bright sunset sky. The altitude of the moon between the sunset (18:58 BST) and the moonset (19:15 BST) was about 1°, so there was not much time to see it with the naked eye, as the moon went into the clouds on the lower horizon very quickly".