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, founder of a large Islamic observatory, honoured on this Soviet stamp.]] :''This is a sub-article to Islamic Science and Astronomy . In its origins and development, Islamic astronomy closely parallels the genesis of other Islamic sciences in its assimilation of foreign material and the amalgamation of the disparate elements of that material to create a science that was essentially Islamic. These include India n and Sassanid works in particular. Some Hellenistic texts were also translated and built upon as well. The contributions made by Muslims in astronomy was quite prolific, and spans close to a thousand years. As a testament, some stars in the sky, such as Aldebaran , are still today recognized with their Arabic names. Science historian ''Donald. R. Hill'' has divided Islamic Astronomy into four distinct time periods in its history: #700-825 CE: The period of assimilation and syncretisation of earlier Hellenistic , India n, and Sassanid astronomy. #825-1025 CE: The period of vigorous investigation, in which the superiority of the Ptolemaic System of astronomy was accepted and significant contributions made to it. #1025-1450 CE: The period when a distinctive Islamic system of astronomy flourished. #1450-1900 CE: The period of stagnation, when the traditional system of astronomy continued to be practised with enthusiasm, but with rapidly decreasing innovation of any major significance. Thankfully, an incredibly rich corpus of literature from Islamic astronomy remains today, numbering around some 10,000 manuscript volumes scattered throughout the world. Much of it has not even been catalogued. Even so, a reasonably accurate picture of Islamic activity in the field of Astronomy can be reconstructed. CELESTIAL PASSAGES IN THE QUR'AN Some Muslims quote Verses from the Qur'an that show God encourages people, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, to engage in astronomy, in order to affirm the existence of God. :''Note: all verses are Translated by Sher Ali . Regarding astronomy:
::''In the creation of the heavens and the earth and in the alternation of the night and the day there are indeed Signs for men of understanding.;
::''Who has created seven heavens in harmony. No incongruity canst thou see in the creation of the Gracious God. Then look again. Seest thou any flaw? 's ''The Depiction of Celestial Constellations'']] Regarding Physical Cosmology :
::''Do not the disbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were a closed up-mass, then WE opened them out? And WE made of water every living thing. Will they not then believe?
::''Then HE turned to the heaven, while it was something like smoke, and said to it and to the earth; `Come ye both of you in obedience, willingly or unwillingly.' They said, `We come willingly.'' {Link without Title} OBSERVATORIES depicting a star Constellation .]] The first systematic observations in Islam are reported to have taken place under the patronage of Al-Mamun . Here, and in many other private observatories from Damascus to Baghdad , Meridian degrees were measured, solar parameters were established, and detailed observations of the Sun , Moon , and Planets were undertaken. In the 10th century, the Buwayhid dynasty encouraged the undertaking of extensive works in Astronomy, such as the construction of a large scale instrument with which observations were made in the year 950CE. We know of this by recordings made in the ''zij'' of astronomers such as Ibn Al-Alam . The great astronomer Abd Al-Rahman Al Sufi was patronised by prince Adud O-dowleh , who systematically revised Ptolemy 's catalogue of Star s. Sharaf Al-Daula also established a similar observatory in Baghdad . And reports by Ibn Yunus and Al-Zarqall in Toledo and Cordoba indicate the use of sophisticated instruments for their time. It was Malik Shah I who established the first large observatory, probably in Isfahan . It was here where Omar Khayam with many other collaborators constructed a Zij and formulated the Persian Solar Calendar a.k.a. the ''jalali calendar''. A modern version of this calendar is still in official use in Iran today. The most influential observatory was however founded by Hulegu Khan during the 13th century. Here, Nasir Al-Din Al-Tusi supervised its technical construction at Maragha . The facility contained resting quarters for Hulagu Khan , as well as a library and mosque. Some of the top astronomers of the day gathered there, and from their collaboration resulted important modifications to the Ptolemaic System over a period of 50 years. In 1420, prince Ulugh Beg , himself an astronomer and mathematician, founded another large observatory in Samarkand , the remains of which were excavated in 1908 by Russian teams. And finally, ''Taqi al-din bin Ma'ruf'' founded a large observatory in Istanbul in 1575, which was on the same scale as those in Maragha and Samarkand. In modern times, has modern facilities at Shiraz University and Tabriz University . In Dec 2005, '' Physics Today '' reported of Iranian plans to construct a "world class" facility with a 2.0 m telescope observatory in the near future. {Link without Title} INSTRUMENTS Our knowledge of the instruments used by Muslim astronomers primarily comes from two sources. First the remaining instruments in private and museum collections today, and second the treatises and manuscripts preserved from the middle ages. Muslims made many improvements to instruments already in use before their time, such as adding new scales or details. Their contributions to astronomical instrumentation are abundant. Celestial Globes Celestial Globe s were used primarily for solving problems in celestial astronomy. Today, 126 such instruments remain worldwide, the oldest from the 11th century. The altitude of the sun, or the Right Ascension and Declination of stars could be calculated with these by inputting the location of the observer on the Meridian Ring of the globe. Astrolabe s in Cambridge , England.]] Brass astrolabes were developed in much of the , corresponding to 927-8CE). The first person credited for building the Astrolabe in the Islamic world is reportedly Fazari ( Richard Nelson Frye : Golden Age of Persia. p163). The instruments were used to read the rise of the time of rise of the Sun and fixed stars. Al-Zarqall of Andalusia constructed one such instrument in which, unlike its predecessors, did not depend on the latitude of the observer, and could be used anywhere. This instrument became known in Europe as the Saphaea . Sundial s Muslims made several important improvements to the theory and construction of sundials, which they inherited from their Hellenistic predecessors. Khwarizmi made tables for these instruments which considerably shortened the time needed to make specific calculations. Some sundials were even put on top of minarets, such as the case of the Umayyid Mosque in Damascus in the 14th century, for telling the time of day with respect to sunrise, mid-day, and sunset. Quadrant s Quadrants were used for computational purposes. Several versions of them were invented by Muslims. The ''Sine quadrant'', for example, was developed in Baghdad in the 9th century. As with many other instruments used by astronomers, it was used mainly to shorten or eliminate the need for calculations in measurements. Equatoria The Equatorium is an Islamic invention from Andalusia . The earliest known was probably made in around 1015CE. It is a mechanical device for finding the positions of the Moon, Sun, and planets, without calculation using a geometrical model to represent the celestial body's mean and Anomalistic position. MUSLIM ASTRONOMERS ''See main article: Muslim Astronomers .'' FAMOUS MUSLIM ASTRONOMY BOOKS
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