The Solar Hijri calendar (Persian: گاه‌شماری هجری خورشیدی‎‎, Pashto: لمريز لېږدیز کلیز‎), also called the Solar Hejri calendar or Shamsi Hijri calendar, and abbreviated as SH, is the official calendar of Iran and Afghanistan. It begins on the vernal equinox as determined by astronomical calculation for the Iran Standard Time meridian (52.5°E or GMT+3.5h). This determination of starting moment is more accurate than the Gregorian calendar for predicting the date of the vernal equinox, because it uses astronomical observations rather than mathematical rules.