Guided by the Moon

A new project which aims to provide Muslim communities across the UK with the skills to host local astronomy hubs and Moon gazing events has been established by the Universities of Cambridge and Leeds. The Moonsighters Academy is an innovative, 9 month public engagement programme, combining hybrid online and in person training with outdoor astronomical observations.

The Islamic calendar is based on lunar cycles and the start of each month is marked by the sighting of the first crescent Moon. The sightings also mark the start and end of Ramadan, Islam’s holiest season. As earlier Muslim communities in the UK couldn't establish regular lunar observations, often due to cloud cover, they tended to outsource their calendar to different countries.

However, as countries see the crescent Moon on different days, this resulted in communities within the UK not being able to celebrate Eid on the same date. Even within the same families, some may be fasting while others feast. This project's aim is to enable Muslims to conduct their own lunar observations within the UK which could help reduce the friction that arises when mosques observe Ramadan or Eid on different dates.  

The project is inspired by the research of Imad Ahmed who’s currently completing a  PhD at Cambridge. He’s also director of the New Crescent Society. The project is a collaboration between the Faculty of Divinity and Institute of Astronomy at the University of Cambridge and the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Leeds.  

Imad: "My hope is that Muslim communities across the UK will end up having a co-ordinated way of celebrating religious festivals that all of them can share in. The project is truly inter-disciplinary bringing science and social history together. By having a community of astronomers capable of conducting their own lunar observations here in the UK, we’ll be able to stop relying on word from abroad and eliminate much of the confusion that surrounds key milestones in the Islamic calendar."

"Muslims in the past have had a strong connection to astronomy and what I want is for us to go from Moon-fighting to Moonsighting to Moon-uniting."

The programme kicked off this month with a two-day residential training session at the University of Leeds, bringing together participants from across the UK. The project will expand through online sessions, a dedicated resource hub, and a peer support network to enable communities to host their own local moon gazing events. 

Astrophysicist Dr Emma Alexander, Research Fellow at the University of Leeds: “One of my favourite aspects of working in astronomy is being able to share it with others, especially when I can help ignite sparks of curiosity about our Universe and shake off stereotypes of who astronomers are.  

"I am particularly excited that our cohort includes some brilliant female students at the start of their careers in astronomy and related fields; they are part of our next generation of excellence in British science, who will inspire others."

"Ultimately, this programme is about giving people the tools and capability to connect their communities to the cosmos, and I am very excited that we have been able to bring it to life." 

The 38 participants are community leaders from all over the UK and include imams, schoolteachers, scout leaders and at least one grandmother. The cohort is evenly split between male and female. The course will build skills and empower these Moonsighters to conduct lunar observations in their own localities and spread the extra knowledge they’ve learned among their peers.

As training got underway, participants were asked how and why they began to pay attention to lunar cycles. Several said having young children had increased their awareness of the natural world, while one participant recalled how much joy looking for the Moon could bring. While astronomy can be a solo endeavour—and some are lucky enough to have a westward window that lets them watch from the comfort of home—Academy participants are united in wanting to get more people engaged in the quest for each new Moon. 

This public engagement project has been awarded funding through the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Spark Awards scheme. The aim of the scheme is to promote wider public engagement with STFC-supported science and technology, particularly in the fields of astronomy, particle physics, computational science and nuclear physics research.

Words: Paul Seagrove

Main images: Mark Bickerdike

Moon illustration: Emma Alexander

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