announcements first exam is three weeks from today (february 18). will cover chapters 1, 2, 3, 4 5....
DESCRIPTION
Much of the “science” went on in the “House of Wisdom” Established in Bagdad in the late 8 th Century as a center for translations. Eventually becomes the Islamic equivalent of the Library of AlexandriaTRANSCRIPT
Announcements• First exam is three weeks from today (February
18). Will cover chapters 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5. Sample questions have been posted. Format will be 15 MC’s (3 points each) and 3 essays (18 points each) from a list of 5
• Dark Sky Observing Night Tuesday night. Set-up starts 45 minutes before the start time so meet here at 6:45pm. Cancellation notice, if needed, will be posted on APSU Astronomy website by 5:00 that day.
• Start Chapter 4 for next time. Think of some discussion questions to bring to class
Islamic Astronomy
Much of the “science” went on in the “House of Wisdom”
Established in Bagdad in the late 8th Century as a center for translations. Eventually becomes the Islamic equivalent of the Library of Alexandria
The Islamic
Calendar is a lunar calendar
Months are 29 or 30 days. The year is 354 days long.
Each month would only begin with the sighting of the Waxing
Crescent Moon
Eventually, calculations are made to assist in the observations
Early calculations resulted in tables of “visibility” for each latitude and some longitudes
Prayer Times required means of telling the time
Early on “folklore” astronomy was used. Some used sand clocks or hour glass “clocks” to determine the times. Eventually, muwaqqit’s, official time keepers are appointed for each mosque.
al-Khwarizmi was the first to produce prayer time
tablesHis tables were for Bagdad but modern prayer tables can be found for any location on Earth
Also important was the direction to Mecca
Not only should you pray towards Mecca, mosques and other structures should be aligned to Mecca
The Qibla Compass allows you to find the direction to Mecca
Mecca-Centered world maps were generated as an aid
Islamic Observatories tended to not survive very long
Taqi al-Din at his observatory in
IstambulThe Maragha Observatory in Iran
The Observatory of Ulugh Beg was the most elaborate
The quadrant was over 130 feet long and still survives today
The chief observer was Ulugh Beg, the governor and then Sultan of Timur (current day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan
After Ulugh’s Death ,most of the observatory was destroyed
The Islamic astronomers especially didn’t like Ptolemy’s equant
The solution: add epicycles to the epicycle
The Astrolabe
The astrolabe is a combination planisphere and time keeper. It allows you to determine the time given your location and the visible stars. It can also compute the position of the Sun or Moon
The Astrolabe in pieces
Check out the Astrolabe website
An Islamic astrolabe with calendar
Islamic Astronomy began to fall
behind after the invention of the
telescope