Sun, Moon, Weather Data

As the saying goes, context is everything.

The last few posts were on the ground - quite literally - reviewing maps and cars. Now it's time to look up in the air. What follows is available data for sunrise, sunset, and annual weather patterns for Baghdad, Iraq for October and December 2003.

Calendar 2003

Julian Date Converter

The Julian date for CE 2003 October 09 00:00:00.0 UT
JD 2452921.50000

The Julian date for CE 2003 December 14 00:00:00.0 UT
JD 2452987.50000

CPA: Announcements for October 7, 2003
*Curfew changed from 11:00 pm - 4:00 am to a new time of midnight - 4:00 am.

Islamic Calendar 1423-24 hj. (2003 AD) is a Lunar Calendar, each month starting with the first sighting of the crescent Moon.

Islamic Holidays - no holidays or festivals appear to coincide with events.

Phases of the Moon

A Waxing Crescent + increasing (ref)
B First Quarter
C Waxing Gibbous
D Full
E Waning Gibbous - decreasing
F Third Quarter
G Waning Crescent
H New Moon

Sun and Moon Data

Sunrise and Sunset for Baghdad, Iraq
Data for the month of October in 2003

Complete Sun and Moon Data For Baghdad, Iraq
33° 20' 19" N 044° 23' 38" E, UTC/GMT Universal Time + 3h

Thursday 9 October 2003

SUN

Event Begin civil twilight Sunrise Sun transit Sunset End civil twilight

Time 05:37 06:02 11:50 17:37 18:02

MOON

Event Moonrise Moonset Moonrise Moon transit Moonset

Time 17:01 on preceding day 04:56 17:27 23:36 05:53 on following day

Phase of the Moon: waxing gibbous with 99% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated.
Full Moon on 10 October 2003 at 10:28 AM

Sunday 14 December 2003

SUN

Event Begin civil twilight Sunrise Sun transit Sunset End civil twilight

Time 06:30 06:58 11:57 16:56 17:23

MOON

Event Moonrise Moonset Moonrise Moon transit Moonset

Time 20:05 on preceding day 04:08 11:12 21:57 11:45 on following day

Phase of the Moon: waning gibbous with 74% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated.
Last quarter Moon on 16 December 2003 at 20:43 PM

Weather

Average Weather for Baghdad, Iraq
October Average: 76.8 °F 24.9 °C
December Average: 52.0 °F 11.1 °C

Average Rainfall
October Average: 0.1 inch 2.6 mm
December Average: 1 inch 26.3 mm

One of my favorite weather sites, Weather Underground (wunderground.com), has limited historical information for Iraq:

Weather Underground Baghdad, Iraq October 9: 65 °F
Weather Underground Baghdad, Iraq December 14: 65 °F

Try searching the same dates but in more recent years as they provide a wide range of data including dust and haze. It'll give a general sense of what the weather was like. They also have information for other cities in Iraq including Baiji just north of Tikrit.

Satellite Images

Search Middle East images using Julian dates.

Dust Storm

On December 13-14, 2003, there was a dust storm to the East over Iran and Southern Asia. (satellite image).

The Nashi wind (also N'aschi) responsible for the dust storm also affected Dubai in the United Arab Emirates during the same time frame (ref). The winter Nashi wind carries dust storms through the straits and along the coast of Iran. Dust storms can interfere with electronics and distort navigational systems. Also see Shamal Wind below.

Additional Reading

Satellite Images from Tafsir Co. Consultant Engineers

Shamal Wind from Wikipedia

Sandblasted troops dig in
By Elliot Blair Smith, USA Today, March 13, 2003

Context

Sun, Moon and Weather data must seem like truly petty information. But, the data provides some context that's easy to overlook.

First: there was a full moon on October 10, 2003. As a result, 'lighting conditions' were pretty much as optimal as they could be for conducting a night time search for Kirk von Ackermann. In addition, just two days prior, curfew hours were changed, adding an extra hour to be outdoors after sunset.

Second: east of Iraq, there was a dust storm over Southern Asia December 13-14. Did the storm have any impact on Iraq? Was there more dust than usual in the air? If yes, how did the dust on the vehicle of Ryan Manelick's assailant(s) compare to other cars at the time? More, less, the same?

In an email to Ryan Manelick's father, Greg, John Dawkins described the assailant(s) as driving a 'nice white Land Cruiser.'

Did 'nice' actually refer to 'clean' and did this mean the assailant(s) vehicle was relatively dust free? And if it was dust-free, why? What does a clean vehicle at the moment of attack say about where the vehicle was kept, how far it was driven to the point of attack, and what does it say about the person(s) who were driving it?

Things to think about.

Or not.