astronomy sawah

8/12/2019 Astronomy Sawah

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ISLAMIC/ARABIC ASTRONOMY RIHAB SAWAH

MCCA-MCGETitle VI-A Year Two

North Africa

Na e! Rihab SawahColle"e! Moberly area Community CollegeCo#r$e Title a%& N# 'er! PHY 262 - Introduction to Astronomy

Mole Title Islamic/Arabic Astronomy

Se e$ter Offere&( )eli*er+ Metho&$( E%roll e%this module will be used in online astronomy courses o!!ered in summer" !all and s#ringsemesters as well as traditional in-class astronomy courses o!!ered in !all and s#ringsemesters$ he #ro%ect will be launched in summer 2&&'$ he module will be in!usedthroughout the course material where it !its with other to#ics in the curriculum$ A(erageenrollment in those classes is )*-2+ students$

Co#r$e O',ecti*e$In a ty#ical introductory astronomy course there is usually a cha#ter on the history o!astronomy$ Almost all astronomy te,tboo s co(er ancient .ree astronomy then %um# to

the Renaissance" o(erloo ing about *&& years o! astronomical de(elo#ments /during theIslamic era0* th through )+ th centuries1 that #a(ed the way !or the Renaissance" andcontributed to the science in ways we still use today$

his module will not only in!use the course with an additional global com#onent" it willintroduce the ma%or Islamic astronomical contributions during medie(al time$ It willguide students through (arious acti(ities that would enable them to learn the !ollowing

)$ he language o! science during the Islamic era0Arabic0 that introduced starnames still in use today$

2$ he de(elo#ments in mathematical astronomy that #a(ed the way !or

Co#ernicus3s wor $ his will introduce im#ortant Islamic astronomers such as al-usi and Ibn al-Shatir whose wor was a ste##ing stone !or Co#ernicus3smathematical model o! the hea(ens$

4$ he origin o! the obser(atory as a research institution$5$ bser(ational instruments used by Muslim astronomers such as astrolabes"

s#herical astrolabes" 7uadrant" se,tants and armillaries$+$ 8ew and more accurate astronomical tables by Muslim astronomers that re#laced

the .ree Almagest$


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6$ he history o! the 24$+ o a,ial tilt o! #lanet 9arth that we still use today )5&& yearsa!ter its calculation by Muslim astronomers$

:$ he brightest su#erno(a recorded in human history in )&&6 /S8)&&61$ Accuraterecord o! this su#erno(a was #ro(ided by Ibn Ridwan !rom 9gy#t$

*$ he e,#lanation to the ;Moon Illusion< /Ibn al-Haytham or Alhacen1$

'$ he e,#lanation o! how rainbows !orm /al-=arisi1$)&$ 8ames o! craters on the moon that are named a!ter Muslim astronomers !or theircontribution to the science o! astronomy$ /e$g$ Alha>en crater" 8asireddin crater"Abul!eda crater" etc$1

Narrati*e )e$cri tio% a%& Ba$ic O#tli%eStudents will be introduced to Islamic astronomy through a guided PowerPoint

#resentation which will lay the !oundation !or !uture student wor $ he PowerPoint isdesigned to introduce them to the conce#t o! Islamic?Arabic astronomy and to gi(e thema !la(or o! some the material they will be researching later$

he material included could be used in both in-class and online !ormat$ @hen classdiscussion is called !or" it would be re#laced by online hreaded iscussions to create asimilar discussion en(ironment in the class$

Most o! the wor will be #roduced by students as they do research to address the to#ics #resented to them /see Student Assignments1$

St#&e%t A$$i"% e%t$

)$ Arabic was the language o! science during the medie(al times re!erred to as the.olden Age o! Islam /!rom 622 B )5'2 A 1$ It was a time o! ama>ingscholarshi# and research shared by Muslims" Christians and ews in the Islamic9m#ire$ he Islamic 9m#ire s#anned !rom western India in the east" to westernA!rica in the west" including the #art o! S#ain nown then as Andalusia /IslamicS#ain1$ he de(elo#ments in science included di!!erent !ields such asmathematics" astronomy" #hysics" medicine" #harmacy" chemistry" engineering"and many more$ hese ad(ancements in the sciences gradually reached the rest o!9uro#e /through Islamic S#ain and Italy1 and brought about the age nown as theRenaissance$ Since all scienti!ic boo s in the Islamic 9m#ire were documented inArabic" Arabic words made their way into other languages$ here are o(er 4&&&

words in the 9nglish language that are o! Arabic origin$ =ind ten 9nglish wordsin astronomy that are o! Arabic origin$ Dist the meaning o! the words and theoriginal Arabic word they are deri(ed !rom$

2$ 8icholas Co#ernicus introduced to astronomy a new model o! the hea(ens nownas the heliocentric model /where he held the Sun in a !i,ed #osition rather than9arth1$ Co#ernicus3s heliocentric system was not born in isolation rather it wasthe integration o! many (iews" models and theorems that had #receded and greatly


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in!luenced its author$ He was moti(ated by the !laws he disco(ered in thePtolemaic .ree astronomical models to de(elo# a new system !ree o! suchinadmissible mista es$ He de(elo#ed a mathematically harmonious system in asense that he eliminated the arbitrary mathematical re#resentations o! thePtolemaic .ree system$ It was this mathematical harmony that made

Co#ernicus3s wor credible in the eyes o! his colleagues in the )6th

century /notthat he held the Sun !i,ed1$ Some o! those im#ortant in!luences on Co#ernicus3smathematical models can be seen in the Islamic astronomical #resence in thetheorems he used$ his demonstrates the centrality and the degree o! assimilationo! these theorems and models in his wor $ wo im#ortant Muslim astronomersare im#ortant in relation to Co#ernicus al- usi and Ibn al-Shatir$ Research theconnections between the two Muslim astronomers and Co#ernicus" and write a

#a#er in which you discuss the im#ortance o! the wor o! al- usi and Ibn al-Shatir as a ste##ing stone !or the de(elo#ment o! mathematical astronomy$

4$ bser(atories are used today as international research institutions around the

globe$ hey o!!er scientists o##ortunities to do collaborati(e wor in astronomy$@rite a #a#er in which you research the earliest international obser(atory that wasset u# as a research institution$ uring which era was it builtE @hat was itsnameE @ho was its !ounderE @ho were its #atronsE @hat #ur#ose did thisinstitution ser(e besides obser(ing the stars and #lanetsE @hat otherobser(atories were modeled a!ter this great oneE How did Islamic obser(atoriesin!luence the course o! astronomy research until our modern timesE

5$ Dist at least three obser(ational instruments used by Muslim astronomers duringthe Middle Ages" and brie!ly e,#lain how they are used$

+$ he one im#ortant astronomical table the Muslims inherited !rom the .ree s a!terthey translated all o! .ree science to Arabic was the wor by the .ree scientistPtolemy$ he boo became nown by its translated Arabic name" Almagest$Dater Muslim astronomers" using more accurate obser(ational instruments they

built" !ound many errors in the astronomical tables o! the Almagest$ heycom#iled new data based on their new and more accurate obser(ations o! the starsand #lanets$ Soon a!ter that" those new tables re#laced the Almagest due to theirhigher accuracy$ iscuss two such Islamic astronomical tables" the name o! theastronomer who made those new astronomical obser(ations" and the location andyear they were #ublished$

6$ he ancient .ree astronomers had disco(ered the a,ial tilt o! #lanet 9arth$ heirobser(ations #roduced a calculation o! the tilt o! 25 o$ oday" we now that thetilt o! our #lanet3s a,is is e,actly 24$+ o$ Research the history o! the 24$+ o a,ial tilto! #lanet 9arth that we still use today )5&& years a!ter its calculation$ =ind outwhich time #eriod and where astronomers made this calculation$


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:$ he brightest su#erno(a recorded in human history in )&&6 /S8)&&61$ Researchthe astronomer who #ro(ided an accurate record o! this su#erno(a$ @hat was hisnameE @here and when did he li(eE

*$ he #henomenon commonly nown as the ;Moon Illusion< is when the !ull moon

a##ears (ery large near the hori>on as it is rising" then a##ears smaller once it hasascended higher in the s y$ 9,#lain this #henomenon" and #ro(ide the name o!the scientist who !irst e,#lained this ;Moon Illusion


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Re$o#rce$ for St#&e%t$

Al-Hassani" Salim $ S$ 1001 Inventions: Muslim Heritage in our World. =oundation !or Science" echnology and Ci(ili>ation" 2&&:$

J.oldstein" Kernard$ Copernicus and the rigin o! his Heliocentric "niverse. ournal!or the History o! Astronomy 44 /2&&21 ##$ 2)'-4+

.oldstein" homas$ #a$n o! Modern %cience. Koston Houghton" Mi!!lin" )'*&$

Hayes" ohn$ &he 'enius o! Arab Civili(ation: %ource o! )enaissance. 8ew Yorni(ersity Press" )':+$

JHartner"@illy$ ; Copernicus* the Man* the Wor+* and Its History "< Proceedings o! theAmerican Philoso#hical Society )):" no$ 6 /)':41" ##$ 5)4-522$

J ennedy" 9$ S$ ; ,ate Medieval -lanetary &heory "< Isis " +:" no$ 4 /)'661$

J ennedy" 9$ S$ Koo re(iew o! ; &he bservatory in Islam and Its -lace in the 'eneral History o! the bservatory by Aydin %ayili "< Isis " +4" no$ 2 /)'621$

haleel" asem$ %cience in the ame o! 'od $ Ku!!alo .ro(e nowledge House" 2&&4$

JRoberts" Gictor$ &he %olar and ,unar &heory o! Ibn al %hatir: A -re CopernicanCopernican Model. Isis 5* /)'+:1 ##$ 52*-42$

Sabra" Abdelhamid I$ &he nterprise o! %cience in Islam: e$ -erspectives. Cambridge

MI Press" 2&&4$

JSaliba" .eorge$ An bservational oteboo+ o! a &hirteenth Century Astronomer $ Isis:5 /)'*41 4** - 5&)$

Saliba" .eorge$ A History o! Arabic Astronomy: -lanetary &heories during the 'olden Age o! Islam $ 8ew Yor 8Y Press" )''5$

Saliba" .eorge$ )ethin+ing the )oots o! Modern %cience: Arabic %cienti!ic Manuscriptsin uropean ,ibraries $ Center !or Contem#orary Studies" .eorgetown ni(ersity" )'':$

Saliba" .eorge$ Whose %cience is Arabic %cience in )enaissance urope htt# ??www$columbia$edu?Lgas)?#ro%ect?(isions?case)?sci$)$html" )'''$

JSaliba" .eorge$ 'ree+ Astronomy and the Medieval Arabic &radition. AmericanScientist$ uly-August 2&&2 46&-46:


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JSaliba" .eorge$ ; )evisiting the Astronomical Contacts 2et$een the World o! Islam and )enaissance urope: &he 2y(antine Connection "< ccult Sciences in Ky>antium" ed$Paul Magdalino" Maria Ma(roudi" Da Pomme r" 2&&6$

Saliba" .eorge$ Islamic %cience and the Ma+ing o! the uropean )enaissance $

Cambridge he Massachusetts Institute o! echnology Press" 2&&:$

Saudi Aramco @orld Maga>ine$ %cience in al Andalus $ www$saudiaramcoworld$com"Al-Andalus" Com#ilation Issue$

Saudi Aramco @orld Maga>ine$ &he %cholar3s %upernova$www$saudiaramcoworld$com" uly-August 2&&6$

Saudi Aramco @orld Maga>ine$ )ediscovering Arabic %cience $www$saudiaramcoworld$com" May- une 2&&:$

Sayili" Aydin$ &he bservatory in Islam and its -lace in the 'eneral History o! thebservatory $ An ara Nr arih urumu KasOme(i" )'6&$

J Articles to be #ro(ided to students electronically /attached1$


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Re$o#rce$ $e& for )e*elo i%" Mole

Al-Hassani" Salim $ S$ 1001 Inventions: Muslim Heritage in our World. =oundation !or Science" echnology and Ci(ili>ation" 2&&:$

.oldstein" Kernard$ Copernicus and the rigin o! his Heliocentric "niverse. ournal !orthe History o! Astronomy 44 /2&&21 ##$ 2)'-4+

.oldstein" homas$ #a$n o! Modern %cience. Koston Houghton" Mi!!lin" )'*&$

Hayes" ohn$ &he 'enius o! Arab Civili(ation: %ource o! )enaissance. 8ew Yorni(ersity Press" )':+$

Hartner"@illy$ ; Copernicus* the Man* the Wor+* and Its History "< Proceedings o! theAmerican Philoso#hical Society )):" no$ 6 /)':41" ##$ 5)4-522$

ennedy" 9$ S$ ; ,ate Medieval -lanetary &heory "< Isis " +:" no$ 4 /)'661$

ennedy" 9$ S$ Koo re(iew o! ; &he bservatory in Islam and Its -lace in the 'eneral History o! the bservatory by Aydin %ayili "< Isis " +4" no$ 2 /)'621$

haleel" asem$ %cience in the ame o! 'od $ Ku!!alo .ro(e nowledge House" 2&&4$

Roberts" Gictor$ &he %olar and ,unar &heory o! Ibn al %hatir: A -re CopernicanCopernican Model. Isis 5* /)'+:1 ##$ 52*-42$

Sabra" Abdelhamid I$ &he nterprise o! %cience in Islam: e$ -erspectives. Cambridge

MI Press" 2&&4$

Saliba" .eorge$ An bservational oteboo+ o! a &hirteenth Century Astronomer $ Isis :5/)'*41 4** - 5&)$

Saliba" .eorge$ A History o! Arabic Astronomy: -lanetary &heories during the 'olden Age o! Islam $ 8ew Yor 8Y Press" )''5$

Saliba" .eorge$ )ethin+ing the )oots o! Modern %cience: Arabic %cienti!ic Manuscriptsin uropean ,ibraries $ Center !or Contem#orary Studies" .eorgetown ni(ersity" )'':$

Saliba" .eorge$ &he rigin and #evelopment o! Arabic %cienti!ic &hought* 4Arabic5 $Debanon Kalamand ni(ersity" Center !or Christian Islamic Studies" )''*$

Saliba" .eorge$ Whose %cience is Arabic %cience in )enaissance urope htt# ??www$columbia$edu?Lgas)?#ro%ect?(isions?case)?sci$)$html" )'''$


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Saliba" .eorge$ &he Astronomical Wor+ o! Mu3ayyad al #in al "rdi: A &hirteenthCentury )e!orm o! -tolemaic Astronomy* 67itab al Hay3ah8 $ Keirut Center !or Arabnity Studies" 2&&)$

Saliba" .eorge$ 'ree+ Astronomy and the Medieval Arabic &radition. American

Scientist$ uly-August 2&&2 46&-46:

Saliba" .eorge$ ; )evisiting the Astronomical Contacts 2et$een the World o! Islam and )enaissance urope: &he 2y(antine Connection "< ccult Sciences in Ky>antium" ed$Paul Magdalino" Maria Ma(roudi" Da Pomme r" 2&&6$

Saliba" .eorge$ Islamic %cience and the Ma+ing o! the uropean )enaissance $Cambridge he Massachusetts Institute o! echnology Press" 2&&:$

Saudi Aramco @orld Maga>ine$ %cience in al Andalus $ www$saudiaramcoworld$com"Al-Andalus" Com#ilation Issue$

Saudi Aramco @orld Maga>ine$ &he %cholar3s %upernova$www$saudiaramcoworld$com" uly-August 2&&6$

Saudi Aramco @orld Maga>ine$ )ediscovering Arabic %cience $www$saudiaramcoworld$com" May- une 2&&:$

Sayili" Aydin$ &he bservatory in Islam and its -lace in the 'eneral History o! thebservatory $ An ara Nr arih urumu KasOme(i" )'6&$

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