Sighting the Month

The new moon has long been a matter of religion. The Sanhedrin, the Pontiff, and the Mufti traditionally announce the first day of a lunation. This is the first light from the crescent moon, which determines the new lunar month. This book establishes the first instant of Universal Time using concepts of astronomy, photometry and radiometry to propose a 5th lunar phase (in addition to new moon, first quarter, full moon and last quarter) for the purpose of unifying lunar-based celebrations around the world. As a result, a precise Jewish calendar is proposed, the timing of the crucifixion is established and the Hejri calendar is evaluated together with the historical events associated with the emergence of Islam.