Ammon News - The Director of the International Astronomy Center (IAC), Engineer Mohammad Shawkat Odeh, said that most countries will be looking for the crescent of the month of Ramadan on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, but based on all the criteria for sighting the crescent published in peer-reviewed scientific research (including the criteria of the Muslim scholar Ibn Tariq, the researcher Fotheringham, the researcher Maunder, the researcher Bruin, the researcher Muhammad Ilyas, the SAAO Astronomical Observatory, the researcher Yallop, and the researcher Odeh), the sighting of the crescent on Tuesday is either impossible or not possible from all regions of the Arab and Islamic world, whether with the naked eye, using a telescope, or even using the technology of super-powerful astronomical imaging.

Odeh told "Ammon News" that Wednesday is expected to be the last day of Sha'ban, and Thursday, February 19th, will be the first day of Ramadan, adding that it is possible Ramadan could begin on Wednesday, February 18th, in some countries that have different requirements for the start of the month.

He explained that the reason why seeing the crescent moon is impossible or not possible on Tuesday, February 17, from all regions of the Arab and Islamic world is that the moon will set before the sun in the east of the Islamic world, will set with it in the middle of the Islamic world, and will set a few minutes later in the west of the Islamic world, with a period that is not sufficient for the moon to move from the new moon phase to the crescent phase to be able to be seen by any optical means.

Crucially, calculations in this case are based on the lower edge of the lunar disc, where the crescent would appear, rather than the upper edge commonly used in moonset calculations. This provides a more accurate measure of how long the crescent itself remains above the horizon.

In Jakarta, the moon will set six minutes before sunset. In the UAE, it will set one minute before sunset, while in Riyadh the lower edge of the moon will disappear 42 seconds before sunset.

In Tabuk, where the moon’s presence will be longest in Saudi Arabia, it will set exactly at sunset, with a surface age of just one hour and 49 minutes, and a separation from the sun of only one degree. Similar conditions will be seen in Amman.

In Cairo, the moon will set two minutes after sunset, with a sun-moon separation of just 1.3 degrees, while in Algiers it will remain visible for only six minutes after sunset.

Under such conditions, sighting the crescent is ruled out by the Danjon limit, established by the French astronomer André Danjon, which demonstrates that the crescent cannot be seen, even with optical aid, if the angular distance between the moon and the sun is less than about seven degrees. All regions on Tuesday fall well below this threshold, Odeh added.