Year 12 are studying salah and how Muslims fix the five daily prayers by the sun: Fajr begins at true dawn and Isha once the evening twilight has gone, which calculation methods define as the sun reaching an angle below the horizon, commonly between 15 and 18 degrees. Pairs set Stellarium to London, Edinburgh and Makkah on dates in December, March and June, step through the night and record the sun's lowest point below the horizon. They find that in London in late June the sun never sinks more than about 15 degrees, so by an 18-degree definition twilight never ends, while in Makkah the sun passes 18 degrees below the horizon about 85 minutes after sunset. Pairs then compare midsummer timetables from several London mosques, identify the approaches scholars take to these weeks, such as a lower angle, the time from the nearest day when twilight does end, or a fixed share of the night, and explain each in the terms its supporters use. Nobody is asked about their own prayer practice.
Tools: Stellarium Nine ideas for your own version in Generate
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