Expected New Moons and Appointed Times for 2020

Listed below are the computations for 2020 for the expected dates of New Moon visibility from Israel. The possible projected dates for the Appointed Times for 2020 are given in a second table below the New Moons table.

PLEASE NOTE: The "Date of Visibility" 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.

**2020/2021 New Moon Data**
New Moon	Date of Visibility	Sunset	Moon Set	Lag Time	% of Illum.	Moon Alt.	Sun Alt.	VN	Sighted?
12th	Sunday, January 26, 2020	5:07	6:34	87 min.	2.99 %	15.4	-17.9	200.9	Yes
13th	Tuesday, February 25, 2020*	5:33	7:11	98 min.	3.81%	18.7	-20.8	239.9	Yes
1st	Wednesday, March 25, 2020	5:54	6:52	58 min.	1.63%	11.0	-12.3	132.0	Yes
2nd	Friday, April 24, 2020	7:14	8:31	77 min.	2.39%	14.3	-15.1	174.0	Haze
3rd	Sunday, May 24, 2020*	7:35	9:18	103 min.	3.87%	18.6	-18.1	235.5	Yes
4th	Monday, June 22, 2020	7:48	9:03	75 min.	2.31%	13.2	-13.0	161.8	Yes
5th	Monday, July 21, 2020*	7:43	8:35	52 min.	1.28%	9.33	-9.81	109.9	7/22
6th	Thursday, August 20, 2020	7:17	8:34	77 min.	3.67%	15.0	-15.3	197.0	Yes
7th	Friday, September 18, 2020	6:41	7:41	60 min.	2.35%	11.7	-12.8	148.1	Yes
8th	Sunday, October 18, 2020*	6:03	7:29	86 min.	5.05%	15.5	-18.3	234.6	Yes
9th	Monday, November 16, 2020	4:39	5:50	71 min.	2.89%	11.8	-14.4	168.2	Yes
10th	Wednesday, December 16, 2020*	4:37	6:26	109 min.	5.03%	17.1	-21.6	263.1	Yes
11th	Thursday, January 14, 2021	4:57	6:15	78 min.	2.58%	13.0	-15.6	174.7	Yes
12th	Monday, February 13, 2021	5:24	7:03	99 min.	3.85%	18.4	-20.9	240.3	Yes
1st	Sunday, March 14, 2021	5:46	6:46	60 min.	1.64%	11.3	-12.7	135.1	Yes

* Tuesday, February 25, 2020 - The moon may possibly be visible one evening earlier, but most likely not. Here are the stats for that date: On Monday evening (February 24), we expect a 5:32 pm sunset & 6:17 pm moon set (therefore, a lag time of 45 minutes), a 1.09% of illumination, with a lunar altitude at sunset of 8.09 degrees and a solar altitude of -9.54 at moonset. VN = 98.03

* Monday, July 21, 2020 - The moon may possibly not be visible until one evening later. Here are the stats for that date: On Tuesday evening (July 22), we expect a 7:42 pm sunset & 9:20 pm moon set (therefore, a lag time of 98 minutes), a 5.07% of illumination, with a lunar altitude at sunset of 18.7 degrees and a solar altitude of -17.5 at moonset. VN = 250.1

* Sunday, October 18, 2020 - The moon may possibly be visible one evening earlier, but most likely not. Here are the stats for that date: On Saturday evening (October 17), we expect a 6:04 pm sunset & 6:48 pm moon set (therefore, a lag time of 44 minutes), a 1.13% of illumination, with a lunar altitude at sunset of 8.03 degrees and a solar altitude of -9.30 at moonset. VN = 97.15

* Wednesday, December 16, 2020 - The moon may possibly be visible one evening earlier, but most likely not. Here are the stats for that date: On Tuesday evening (December 15), we expect a 4:37 pm sunset & 5:24 pm moon set (therefore, a lag time of 47 minutes), a 1.21% of illumination, with a lunar altitude at sunset of 7.40 degrees and a solar altitude of -9.06 at moonset. VN = 97.45

**2020 Appointed Times (March 25th/26th New Year)**
Event	begins sunset of	ends sunset of
Passover (Lord's Supper) - Aviv 14	Tuesday, April 7	Wednesday, April 8
Feast of Unleavens (1st day) - Aviv 15	Wednesday, April 8	Thursday, April 9
Elevation Sheaf Day (aka "wave sheaf")	Saturday, April 11	Sunday, April 12
Feast of Unleavens (7th day) - Aviv 21	Tuesday, April 14	Wednesday, April 15
Pentecost	Saturday, May 30	Sunday, May 31
Day of Shouting (aka "Trumpets")	Friday, September 18	Saturday, September 19
Day of Atonement	Sunday, September 27	Monday, September 28
Feast of Tabernacles (1st day)	Friday, October 2	Saturday, October 3
8th Day Assembly	Friday, October 8	Saturday, October 9

Understanding the Calculations

Visibility Number (VN) is the difference between the sun and moon setting times plus 27 times the illuminated percent of the moon plus 5.5 times the altitude of the moon at sunset minus 5 times the altitude of the sun at moonset, all divided by 1.7.

If the VN is:

* less than 88 then the New Moon will not be seen
* between 88 and 100, it will probably not be seen
* between 100 and 112, it will probably be seen
* anything greater than 112, it will be seen in reasonable conditions.

EXAMPLE: The sun will set in Jerusalem at 6:37. The moon will set at 7:36. This is a 59 minute lag time (lag time = the time between sunset and moonset) -- plenty of time for the sky to darken enough after sunset for the moon to be sighted. 2.39% of the lunar surface will be illuminated. And the moon's altitude at sunset will be 11.4 degrees. The sun's altitude at moonset will be -12.6 degrees.

So using the calculations, we have 59 [lag time] + (27 x 2.39 = 64.53) [27 times illuminated percent] + (5.5 x 11.4 = 62.7) [5.5 times lunar altitude] - (5 x -12.6 = -63) [5 times sun's altitude] divided by 1.7 = 146.6

As seen above, anything over 112 should be visible (the higher the number, the greater the visibility), and we have a VN of 146.6 -- hence, New Moon!

Email: Brian Hoeck

©2020 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.

Back to CALENDAR CHRONICLES