Did Ramadhaan start on Saturday?

The Greenwich Royal Observatory has a site which can calculate and evaluate the level of visibility of the new moon anywhere in the world. The site is a very simple to use the link is given below:

http://websurf.nao.rl.ac.uk

- click on the Moon_Viz option given on the left-side menu.
- specify the name of the place you wish to find data about i.e. Mecca.
- it will produce a latitude/longitude reference, if this is correct click on the name of the place.
- then select a period of interest ie. 14th Oct 2004 to 17th Oct 2004, click OK.
- the data will be produced, the far left column is the IMPORTANT one this evaluates the ease of visibility.

Results

Mecca (Saudi Arabia): THU - not visible, FRI - easily visible

Riyadh (Saudi Arabia): THU - not visible, FRI - easily visible

LONDON (U.K) THU - not visible, FRI - may need optical aid SAT- easily visible

Rabat (Morocco): THU - not visible, FRI - easily visible

New York (USA): THU - not visible, FRI - easily visible

Delhi (India): THU - not visible, FRI - easily visible

Islamabad (Pakistan): THU - not visible, FRI - easily visible

Johannesburg (South Africa): THU - not visible, FRI - easily visible

Melbourne (Australia): THU - not visible, FRI - easily visible

Oslo (Norway): THU - not visible, FRI - not visible, SAT - easily visible

Bangkok (Indonesia): THU - not visible, FRI - easily visible

The Greenwich Royal Observatory through their calculations (webSurf facility) indicate that there is no place on earth where the new moon will be visible on Thursday 14th October 2004.

http://www.nmm.ac.uk/site/request/setTemplate:singlecontent/contentTypeA/conWebDoc/contentId/9272/navId/00500300f00h
A muslim scientist Khalid Shaukat (an advisor to the ISNA, Islamic Society of North America) on his website shows graphically that it is merely impossible to see the new moon on Thursday 14th October 2004.

http://www.moonsighting.com/

Ramadan 1425 CE for North America (USA and Canada) [along with most of the countries in the Northern Hemisphere] is expected (most probable) to start from the Day of Sat 16 Oct 2004 CE, with easy sighting of the Hilal on the previous evening of Fri 15 Oct 2004 CE, inshallah.

The Hilal may be sighted, "VERY DIFFICULT", in south-west of USA on the evening of Thu 14 Oct 2004 CE, in which case Ramadan, for USA and Canada, would start on the day of Fri 15 Oct 2004 CE (low probability).

The Hilal will NOT be seen in any other country (other than USA/Canada) on the evening of Thu 14 Oct 2004 CE hence it is IMPOSSIBLE for Ramadan to start on Fri 15 Oct 2004 CE in the other countries (other than USA/Canada).

http://www.hilal-sighting.com/

Taken From ISNA.NET

RAMADAN: The available data indicates that the moon's conjunction will occur on Thursday, October 14, 2004, at 2:49 Universal Time i.e., Wednesday, October 13, 2004 at 10:49 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (7:49 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time). On October 14, the moon's age will be 22.4 hours at sunset on the West Coast of the US and still unlikely to be seen because it will be in the southern hemisphere, and will be very low on the horizon in the northern hemisphere. This moon will be thin and less bright than the background sunlight on the horizon. Therefore, it will be VERY DIFFICULT to see the Hilal on the evening of Thursday, October 14, 2004, if at all. If the Hilal is not visible, 30 days of Sha’ban will be completed and Ramadan will start on the evening of October 15, making the first day of Ramadan in North America on Saturday, October 16, 2004, insha'Allah.