Sharjah experts say Ramadan crescent impossible to sight on February 17

After conducting meticulous astronomical calculations, the Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences and Technology (SAASST) at the University of Sharjah has issued a precise forecast for sighting the Ramadan crescent this year.

The sighting of the crescent will signal the start of the holy month on the subsequent day.

[For the complete Ramadan prayer timetable, visit Khaleej Times’ Ramadan prayer timings page.]

Impossible to sight on February 17

The team that did the calculations explained that the Moon reaches central conjunction with the Sun (forming the new Moon) on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, at 4.01pm UAE time. For Sharjah specifically, this occurs at 5.52 pm local time.

At sunset that evening, the Moon will be just two hours and 14 minutes old. It will set mere seconds before the sun's full disk vanishes.

This means that with the Moon and Sun setting at almost the same time, the former will be impossible to sight on Tuesday evening.

The team from SAASST confirmed that the sighting would not be possible even with sophisticated telescopes — not just in Sharjah and the UAE, but across most of the Islamic world.

Likely Ramadan start date

However, on Wednesday evening, February 18, the calculations say that the Moon age will exceed 26 hours and will have an elevation nearing 12 degrees 21 arcminutes — which are prime conditions for naked-eye sighting if skies stay clear.

For Sharjah's surface conjunction, it hits 24 hours 23 minutes at 12.5 degrees.

The academy predicts Ramadan will therefore most likely dawn the day after — Thursday, February 19, 2026 — for countries relying on visual sightings. Some Islamic nations, however, may opt for Wednesday, February 18, leaning on astronomical data alone rather than waiting for eye sighting.