Abu Dhabi, MINA – The International Astronomical Center (IAC), based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, has developed new artificial intelligence (AI)-based software named “Hilal.” This tool is designed to capture images of the hilal (young crescent moon)—even when it is extremely thin and positioned close to the sun—during daylight hours.
According to a report by The Islamic Information on Thursday, the IAC is an Abu Dhabi-based scientific center focused on astronomical research and educational activities. The center manages the Islamic Crescents’ Observation Project (ICOP), which tracks and documents crescent moon sighting reports from its members worldwide.
Hilal employs intelligent algorithms to automatically scan for the crescent’s arc based on its predicted position, size, and orientation, assigning a confidence score to each detection. The software also compensates for the moon’s movement during the imaging process and autonomously adjusts the camera’s exposure settings.
The software has already demonstrated its capabilities; it successfully captured the crescent moon for the month of Rabi’ al-Thani when it was positioned just 4.8 degrees away from the sun.
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The IAC hopes that Hilal will assist in the scientific documentation of crescent moon sightings and help determine the minimum thickness at which a crescent moon can still be photographed, particularly in situations where traditional methods fail to capture it. []
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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