But his inquiring mind meant that he improved upon Ptolemy’s astronomical calculations by replacing geometric methods with trigonometry. Much like other astronomers of his day, he was influenced by Ptolemy. His father was a maker of scientific instruments which further stoked his interest in astronomy. His heritage meant that he naturally took to the stars. Some researchers assert that while his ancestors were Sabian, he himself was Muslim, given his name: AbūʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Jābir ibn Sinān al-Raqqī al-Ḥarrānī aṣ-Ṣābiʾal-Battānī. Al Battani was a Mesopotamian-Arab mathematician and astronomer (858 –929 CE) who belonged to the ancient Sabian sect, a religious sect of star worshippers from Harran. Many of their names remain etched in the sky with celestial bodies named after them.Īl Battani: An ancient lunar impact crater, Albategnius, is named after the anglicised version of his name. This period coincided with the Dark Ages in Europe and Muslim scholars came to the forefront. Under the patronage of the Abbasids, scientific enquiry was encouraged, and the field expanded by leaps and bounds. One needed to understand the night sky in order to navigate one’s way through deserts one also had to look to the sky to know the direction of Mecca and the exact time of prayer. From time immemorial Muslims had informally studied the stars. One needed to understand the night sky in order to navigate one’s way through deserts one also had to look to the sky to know the direction of Mecca and the exact time of prayer"Īstronomy was not new to the Empire. "From time immemorial Muslims had informally studied the stars. It was a time when science, technology, arts and cultures flourished, due to the impetus given to scholarly pursuits by the Abbasid Caliphate. The Islamic Golden Age was spread between the 8th-14th centuries CE. We plunged through history, right back to the Islamic Golden Age, where the story began to find out more about the stars and the astronomers behind the names: Quite literally.Ībout two-thirds of the stars – that are referred to by their names as opposed to numerals – have Arabic names, as noted by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.įor instance, Aldebaran comes from ‘al dabaran’, which translates to follower, since this star is close on the heels of the star cluster Pleiades. If you’re trying to gauge the extent of the latter’s contributions to astronomy, it’s written in the stars. ![]() While the Greeks were among the first to formally record their findings, they were closely followed by Islamic astronomers. Zoom in to the faint red dots and you’ll see galaxies that are over 13 billion years old This image is of the galaxy cluster known as SMACS 0723, which is only about 4.6 billion years old. Each culture, with its peculiar knowledge base and religious practices, added to the understanding of our Universe. It is little wonder that the field of astronomy dates back to the 1st millennium BCE – the ancient science traversed borders. It was always a place of beauty and mystery, hope and darkness, that inspired artists and scientists alike. These ethereal snapshots have been delivered to us thanks to the technological marvel, JWST, which has been in the making for 30 years and has produced some of the sharpest images from space to date.īut long before these close-ups were trending, the night sky still captured our collective imagination. "How do you measure the radius of the Earth when instruments are lacking? You climb a hill! That’s what astronomer Al Biruni did back in the day" But we hate to break it to you – the fiery image came from a not-so-sensual source gas and dust released by the dying stars created the fantastic hues and patterns. Most viewers were left mesmerised by the picture of a Southern Ring Nebula where star death was captured in all its blazing glory. ![]() It almost appears as though the glittering galaxies are locked in a sensual dance. The image of Stephan’s Quintet allows us to glimpse at how galaxies interact and merge with each other. It’s surreal to think that we’re looking at ancient galleries – some over 13 billion years old. The drama of the cosmos has been captured in vivid technicolour and it is unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. The recently released images from NASA, taken by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), have left Earth mesmerised.
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