Alsufi s book of the images of the fixed stars and its influence on islamic and european celestial cartography robert h. Feb 10, 2020 abd alrahman alsufi and his book of the fixed stars. Bodleian library around 964, alsufi published his kitab suwar alkawakib more commonly referred to by its english. Al sufi published his famous book of fixed stars in 964 al sufi, 964, describing much of his work, both in textual descriptions and pictures.
The boo k was written in arabic, although the author himself was persian. His most famous work is the kitab suwar alkawakib, book of the constellations of the fixed stars 986 which described the 48 constellations from ptolemys almagest. Al sufi book of fixed stars ursa major the great bear bodleian library marsh. The second is a 17thcentury ottoman turkish translation of the first part on the supraterrestrial creatures of kitab ajaib almakhluqat wagharaib almawjudat the wonders of creation. Bodleian library around 964, al sufi published his kitab suwar al kawakib more commonly referred to by its english. The first english translation of the book of the fixed stars was published in 20 by ihsan hafez of james cook university, australia.
The orion nebula also known as messier 42, m42, or ngc 1976 is a diffuse nebula situated in the milky way, being south of orion s belt in the constellation of orion. Lupus was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2ndcentury astronomer ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations, although it was previously an asterism associated with the neighboring constellation centaurus. Albiruni reports that his work on the ecliptic was carried out in shiraz. Alsufis book of the fixed stars, dating from around ad 964, is one of the most important medieval arabic treatises on astronomy. Alsufis book of the images of the fixed stars and its influence on islamic and european celestial cartography robert h. The book is the first illustrated pictorial star atlas, and was very influential for centuries after it was authored. On friday 27th of january, 2018, i gave a presentation at the kw rasc on al sufi s book of fixed stars. Bekijk meer ideeen over verjaardag boek, heelal en sterren. The constellations cetus and orion in the bodleian manuscript. Statue of ulugh beg and his students, registan square, samarqand, uzbekistan.
Abd alrahman alsufi and his book of the fixed stars. Alsufi produced a revised and updated version of ptolemys almagest in a major book called kitab suwar alkawakib the book of fixed stars, completed around 964 ce. The book of the fixed stars was written by the persian astronomer abdulrahman alsufi around ad 964, and is one of the most important medieval arabic treatises on astronomy. Pdf abdulrahman alsufi and his book of the fixed stars. This appeared in or shortly after ad 964, some eight hundred years after the original almagest was written. This major work contains detailed star charts and an extensive star. Orion, eridanus, lepus, canis major, canis minor, argo navis, hydra, crater. Alsufis book of the fixed stars, dating from around ad 964, is one of the most. The lunar crater azophi and the minor planet 12621 alsufi are named after him.
Alsufi s book of the fixed stars, dating from around ad 964, is one of the most important medieval arabic treatises on astronomy. The depiction of orion, as seen from earth left and a mirrorimage, from a thcentury copy of alsufis book of the fixed stars. The foot on the left is annotated rijl al jauza al yusra, the arabic name from which rigel is derived. Alsufi called it little cloud alternatively translated as a small cloudy patch and provided a representative image of. The words around the crabs indicate the cardinal directions of north, south, east, and west, with the. In his descriptions and pictures of andromeda, he included a little cloud which is actually the andromeda galaxy m31. Like all books in the days before printing, the book of the fixed stars was. The giant orion was created out of an oxhide by the gods, jupiter, neptune and mercury, at the request of hyreus who. It spread widely from central asia, throughout the middle east, and to europe. The second is a 17thcentury ottoman turkish translation of the first part on the supraterrestrial creatures of kitab ajaib almakhluqat wagharaib almawjudat the wonders. Alsufi wrote his book of fixed stars in 964, in text and pictures. The description of the fixed stars given by sufi is founded, it is true. The artwork closely mirrors what appeared in alsufis manuscript, the book of fixed stars.
At present no english translation of alsufis treatise exists. Orion illustrated in a copy of abd al rahman al sufi s book of fixed stars. Pdf the investigation of stars, star clusters and nebulae. The book was written in arabic, although the author himself was persian. Pdf the book of the fixed stars was written by the persian astronomer. This book describes fortyeight constellations and the stars that they are composed of. Built on the basis of the greek astronomical heritage, the work of al sufi contained a listing of the arabs own star names, magnitudes determined by alsufi himself, and two drawings of each constellation, one as it is seen in the sky and one reversed right to left as it would appear on a celestial globe. Alsufis orion, 1125 baghdad copy, doha museum of islamic art ms 2. Book of the fixed stars featured many constellation drawings, including orion. Astronomy image gallery muslim heritagemuslim heritage. The book of fixed stars by abd al rahman al sufi all astronomers know the names of ptolemy, tycho brahe and johannes hevelius, three landmark characters who catalogued the stars with everincreasing accuracy between the second and seventeenth centuries. The book of fixed stars is an astronomical text written by abd alrahman alsufi azophi around 964.
And while the noted greek astronomer ptolemy noted it as a haze, it was abd alrahman alsufi who first distinctly recorded in his kitab. Alsufi was one of the nine noted muslim astronomers. The book was written in arabic, although the author. Abd alrahman alsufi 7 december 903 25 may 986, known as alsufi, was a persian astronomer. Abd alrahman alsufi simple english wikipedia, the free. Alsufis book of the constellations of the fixed stars. The words around the crabs indicate the cardinal directions of.
Al sufi was the first astronomer to describe the nebulosity of the nebula in andromeda in his book of constellations atlas of heavens. Orion spans nearly 20 degrees of the zodiac in the sign of gemini, and contains named fixed stars. It is one of the brightest nebulae, and is visible to the naked eye in the night sky. Lupus is a constellation located in the deep southern sky. Alsufis book of the images of the fixed stars and its influence on. There are six copies of assufis book of the fixed stars. Alsufi published his famous book of fixed stars in 964, describing much of his work, both in textual descriptions and pictures. Islamic the constellation leo, folio probably from the kitab suwar alkawakib althabita book of the images of the fixed stars 1998. Was a friend and pupil of alsufi, ruled shiraz alsufi mentions him in his book alhussain mentions him in his poem. This is an outstanding medieval treatise on astronomy that was written in ad 964. In 1998 a hitherto unknown early copy of alsufis star atlas, dated 519ah 1125 ce, was auctioned in london by sothebys. Constellation orion the hunter is a southern constellation sitting below constellation taurus and above constellation leups.
This major work contains an extensive star catalogue, which lists star coordinates and magnitude estimates, as well as detailed star. Al sufi published kitab al kawatib al thabit al musawwar also commonly known as the book of fixed stars in ad 964 and dedicated it to adud al dawla, the current ruler of buwayhid at the time. Aquila and orion are the right way round, although aquila has south at the top. Abdalrahman al sufi december 7, 903 seds messier database. The book covers all 48 constellations in the ptolemaic system.