Expected New Moons and Appointed Times for 2011

     Listed below are the computations for 2011 for the expected dates of New Moon visibility from Jerusalem, as well as the moladim (i.e., average time of astronomical conjunction) of the Calculated Rabbinical Calendar (CRC). The difference between the dates for the two calendars is also noted.

     The possible projected dates for the Eternal's Appointed Times for 2011 are given in the table below the New Moon listings. There were two possible dates for the head of the year: March 7th and April 5th. The barley was found to be very young during the search period of March 1st and 2nd, and as such, the year will commence April 5th (Brian Convery's Abib report can be viewed at http://www.abibofgod.com/6.html).

PLEASE NOTE:  The "Visible Crescents" column dates are the dates on which the New Moon is expected to be seen--beginning at sunset of the listed day. All dates listed are to be reckoned from sunset of listed day and date through the next day at sunset in the following New Moon table. [If the VISIBLE CRESCENT column lists Thursday, March 30, for example, then the 1st day of that month by crescent is from sunset of March 30 through sunset of March 31. If the CRC's MOLAD column lists Wednesday, March 29, then by CRC's molad, it is from sunset of March 29 through sunset of March 30.]

*Heavy clouds blocked the view of the New Moon on Friday February 4, 2011. Nehemia Gordon reported: "...we didn't see the moon from Jerusalem because of rain and clouds. However it was 30 days since the last sighting and hence new moon day by default (a lunar month can't be more than 30 days long)."

*Heavy clouds blocked the view of the New Moon on Wednesday, May 4, 2011. Nehemia Gordon reported: "We looked for the moon on Wednesday May 4, 2011 from Israel. It should have been visible under good viewing conditions but there were clouds across Israel and so far no one has reported seeing it...Tonight (Wednesday May 4, 2011) was actually the 31st evening since the previous sighting making it new moon day by default, even if we did not succeed in sighting the moon. On the previous evening sighting would have been impossible from Israel even under ideal conditions. That makes tonight the beginning of the 2nd biblical month."

*Not Sighted (Tuesday, August 30, 2011). Nehemia Gordon reported: "On Tuesday August 30, 2011 observers across Israel looked for the new moon but it was not sighted. Visibility was uncertain even under ideal weather conditions due to a short lagtime of only 35 minutes. Lagtime refers to the time between sunset and moonset. This month the moon set only 35 minutes after the sun. During those 35 minutes, the light of the sun had not faded enough for the moon to be visible, and by the time it got dark enough, the moon had already set or was too close to the horizon to see. Normally when the moon has a short lagtime, it coincides with a small percentage of the moon's surface facing Earth being illuminated. This month the short lagtime of 35 minutes coincided with an unusually high illumination of 3.71% making a concerted effort at sighting the moon worthwhile. Despite our efforts we did not see the moon. Clouds may have played a factor in our negative sighting. New moon day will be tomorrow evening, Wednesday August 31, 2011."

Sunday, December 25* This is the earliest possible date of visibility of the 10th New Moon, however it may not be visible until the following evening. On Sunday December 25, 2011 observers from Israel looked for the new moon but it was not sighted. It was raining throughout the country. Visibility would have been uncertain even under ideal conditions

*Heavy clouds blocked the view of the New Moon on Tuesday, January 24, 2012. Nehemia Gordon reported: "observers looked for the new moon from Jerusalem but the horizon was covered with heavy clouds and it was not sighted. The moon should have been easily visible had there been no clouds."

* molad - The CRC, contrary to what some may think, is not based on first visibilty of the moon after conjunction--it is based on the "molad." The Hebrew word means "birth," but the term in rabbinical calculated calendar usage refers to the average conjunction of the earth, moon, and sun (average length being 29.53059 days). The molad may occur on the actual astronomical new moon, but the two terms are not interchangable.  The molad may also occur upon the first day of crescent visibility, or yet within a few days on either side of it (as evidenced in the chart above).

Email: Brian Hoeck

©2005 Truth On The Web Ministries: All the articles originated by Kenneth Hoeck and/or Brian Hoeck may be freely distributed or mirrored as long as presented in their entirety (including this statement), attributed to Truth on The Web, and proper author credit given.

See also Projected Appointed Times for 2001-2030

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