Islamic calendar lunar months begin precisely at the time of the monthly "conjunction", when the Moon is located most directly between the Earth and the Sun. The month is defined as the average duration of a revolution of the Moon around the Earth (29.53 days). By convention, months of 30 days and 29 days succeed each other, adding up over two successive months to 59 full days. This leaves only a small monthly variation of 44 minutes to account for, which adds up to a total of 24 hours (i.e., the equivalent of one full day) in 2.73 years. To settle accounts,
America-class steamship "Europa" was also chartered as a troopship during the Crimean War and continued in Cunard service until 1867, when she was sold and converted to a sailing ship. Won the eastbound record in 1849 with a Halifax–Liverpool voyage of 8 days 12 hours 44 minutes, an average of . During the Crimean War, she remained on the Halifax route and was sold for conversion to a sailing ship in 1866. Took the Blue Riband in May 1850 with a Liverpool–Halifax run of 8 days 14 hours 50 minutes, an average of . "Asia" also remained on the Halifax route during