Liputan6.com, Bandung – The crescent moon marking the start of Ramadan 1447 Hijriah was not visible in West Java after simultaneous observations were conducted at seven locations across the province. This announcement was made by the West Java Regional Office of the Ministry of Religious Affairs on Tuesday, February 17, 2026.
Ali Abdul Latif, the Head of Administration at the West Java Ministry of Religious Affairs, stated that the monitoring took place simultaneously throughout Indonesia, with West Java’s observations centralized at the Albiruni Observatory in Bandung.
“We confirmed that at 6:00 PM WIB, the crescent moon was not visible, positioned at minus 2 degrees 24 minutes 42 seconds, moving to 0 degrees 58 minutes 47 seconds,” Ali explained.
The findings will be reported to the Ministry of Religious Affairs of Indonesia to confirm the start of Ramadan 1447 Hijriah, with a decision to be made during a joint consultation at the isbat session that will be determined by the Minister of Religious Affairs.
Ali acknowledged that some communities in West Java had already decided that Ramadan would commence on Wednesday, February 18.
Meanwhile, Encep Abdul Rojak, the head of the Albiruni Observatory, noted that the geocentric conjunction or ijtimak occurred on February 17, 2026, at 7:01 PM WIB. He explained that the observation of the crescent moon began at sunset, which was at 6:17 PM, while the moon had set earlier at 6:13 PM, eliminating the possibility of visibility.
“At sunset, the moon and the sun had an elongation difference of about 1 degree 19 minutes, but the moon was already below the horizon, making observation impossible,” Encep stated.
He emphasized that the observation process involves several technical steps, including calibrating telescopes, setting up supporting equipment like CCD cameras and solar filters, and directing the telescopes toward the moon just before observation time.
This meticulous process reflects the importance of accurate lunar observations for the Islamic calendar, ensuring communities can observe Ramadan at the appropriate time.