lunar-app.com helps you know when the new Islamic month starts and where to look for the crescent moon after sunset — for any location in the world.
🌙 Crescent tab
Predicts whether the new crescent will be visible from your city on a given evening.
- Set your location — Tap the gear icon or location name in the header. Search for your city or auto-detect.
- Choose a month — Use the arrow buttons to navigate Islamic months.
- Pick an evening — Select “Too early,” “Best chance,” or “Evening after.” The app adjusts the moon age for each.
- Read the result — The banner shows the visibility category, the best time to look, which direction to face, how high the moon will be, and a nearby bright star as a visual reference.
- Use the sky chart — The canvas shows the western sky at sunset. The compass rose helps you orient. The dotted line is the moon’s path. Tap Sunset / Best time / Moonset to preview different moments.
🔭 Moon Now tab
See where the moon is right now from your location, and track key times throughout the day.
- The status card tells you if the moon is above or below the horizon, and when the next rise or set occurs.
- The compass rose on the canvas shows which direction the moon is in.
- The dotted gold arc traces the moon’s path from moonrise to moonset across the sky.
- Tap Moonrise / Highest / Moonset to preview the moon’s position at those times. Tap Now to return to the live view.
- The cards below show the current direction, altitude, and illumination at a glance.
- ⭐ Star guide — cycles Off → Simple → Detailed. Shows bright navigation stars on the sky canvas with labels. Qibla and crescent bearing cards appear when active.
🌍 Global tab
A world visibility table that colour-codes every region by how easily the crescent can be seen. The same evening selector (Too early / Best chance / Evening after) changes the prediction date.
| Colour | Meaning |
|---|
| Green | A — Easily visible with the naked eye |
| Blue | B — Visible in perfect conditions |
| Yellow | C — Optical aid may help |
| Red | D — Optical aid only |
| Orange | E — Optical aid, difficult |
| White | N — Not visible |
Predictions use the Yallop q-parameter. Categories A–E only apply to crescent phases (<50% illumination).
📅 Calendar tab
A monthly calendar showing both Gregorian and computed Hijri dates for each day. The Hijri day starts at sunset, so each cell covers from sunset to the next sunset. Days highlighted in gold are predicted crescent-sighting evenings. Tap a day to jump to that date in the Crescent view.
✨ Celestial Events
The app automatically checks for notable celestial events and displays a gold banner at the top of the Crescent page. Tap × to dismiss an event for the day.
- Supermoon — when the moon is closest to Earth, appearing larger and brighter.
- Blue moon / Black moon — the second full or new moon in a calendar month.
- Moon near a planet — Venus, Jupiter, Mars, or Saturn close to the moon after sunset.
- Lunar / Solar eclipses — with date and time of peak.
About the Dates
The app shows two Hijri references:
- Calculated — Based on the exact conjunction moment (moon between Earth and Sun). The Hijri day starts at sunset on that day.
- Umm al-Qura — The official Saudi calendar. May differ by 1–2 days due to additional visibility rules.
Behind the Scenes
Calculations use the Yallop q-parameter for crescent visibility and real astronomy engines (astronomy-engine for conjunctions, SunCalc for moon/sun positions). The Global view compares visibility at representative cities worldwide.
Limitations
- Predictions assume a clear sky and flat horizon. Real visibility depends on weather, dust, elevation, and observer experience.
- Times use your browser’s timezone setting.
- Umm al-Qura dates need the Aladhan API. When offline, only the calculated date is shown.
Data Sources
Moon & sun: astronomy-engine & SunCalc. Umm al-Qura: Aladhan API. City geocoding: Nominatim (OpenStreetMap).
Inspired by Moonsighting.com — an invaluable resource for the global moonsighting community.