Noonun

Arab Astronomy

The contribution of Early Arab Astronomers revolutionised Astronomy, giving us the basis of what we study today. This culture was not only the first to build Observatories, but also the first to develop and perfect instruments to observe and measure the stars and planets. Much of the Arabs work went toward perfecting that of the Greeks, as a lot of their theories went by that of Ptolemy and other famous Greek Astronomers.

But why were the Arabs so interested in Astronomy?

ISLAM

* Muslims are required to pray five times a day at specified positions of the Sun, and using astronomical time-keeping turned out to be the most accurate and efficient way of being punctual!

* Also, by observing the changes in the sky, they were able to mark down the days of their religious festivals.

* Using Astronomy also allowed the Arabs to determine the latitude and longitudes of important cities, especially the direction of Mecca.

But of course, aside from Islamic reasons, the Arabs used the positions of the stars for navigation on land and sea.

What did they contribute to Astronomy?

One of the most important and significant instruments perfected by the Arabs, was the astrolabe, originally developed by the Greeks. The astrolabe, for over one thousand years told Arabs and others, by calculating the positions of the stars, in which direction they were heading, and in which direction to pray. It also told the exact times of sunrises and sets, and it determined the period of fasting during Ramadan.

Another innovation was the development of tables that showed the exact positions of some planets, and the precession of the equinoxes. Observing the equinoxes made it possible to determine the length of the solar year with unbelievable accuracy, as well as arriving at figures for the longitudes and latitudes of certain places, that had only a small margin of error.

One Arab Astronomer, considered to be one of the greatest scientists of all time, brought up the idea of the earth rotating on an axis, a theory proven by Galileo almost six centuries afterward.

The development of the magnetic compass, the charting of the Zodiac, investigation of speeds of sound and