ASTRONOMY: STARS WITH ARABIC NAMES

wajid · Feb 25, 2006

STARS WITH ARABIC NAMES. Many stars were discovered and described by Muslim Astronomers as is clear from their Arabic names. Algol is a bright star in the constellation Perseus. The name Algol has its roots in the Arabic name al-ghoul meaning demon star. Its one the best known eclipsing binaries and the first such star to be discovered. Its also one of the first variable stars in general to be discovered. The variability of Algol was well recorded by the Arabs centuries ago. Deneb the brightest star in constellation Cygnus and one of the brightest in the sky. The name has originated from Arabic Dheneb ad dajaja meaning “the tail of hen”. Dheneb in Arabic means tail. Rigel is the brightest star in constellation Orion and the seven brightest star in the night time sky.The name comes from Arabic ar rijl al-jabbar “the foot of the great one” or Rijl Jauza al-Yusra “the left foot of the central one”. Rigel is located in the left foot of Orion hence and the name. Aldebaran is the brightest star in constellation Taurus and one of the brightest stars (14th) in the nighttime sky. Because of its location in the head of Taurus it is sometimes referred to as Bull’s Eye. The name aldebaran comes from the Arabic ad-dabaran meaning follower a reference to the way the it follows the Plaides star cluster in nightly journey across the sky. Betelgeuse, the second brightest star in the constellation Orion and the 10th brightest star in night time sky. It is a red super giant on e the physically largest star known. The name Betelgeuse is a corruption of Arabic yadal jawza “hand of the central one” or more probably baith al jawza “armpit of the central one”. Baith al jawza in Latin became Betelgeuse. Arabs referred to Gemini as jawza. Achenar, another super giant is the brightest star of constellation Eridanus and ninth brightest in the sky. Its name is derived from the Arabic akhir an- nehar meaning “the end of the river”. Altair is the brighte

Saiph · Feb 25, 2006

I think it might be a bit to strong to say that muslim astronomers "discovered" these stars, visible to the naked eye. However, you are right in that muslim astronomers had a significant influence on the nomenclature and early astronomy. Indeed muslim scholars have a very important role in history in preserving, spreading, and advancing science when europe was in the dark ages. B.t.w you missed one: Saiph, Orions "right" knee (seen by us as the one on the left): is derived from an arabic phrase meaning "sword of the giant"... <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> --------------------SaiphMOD@gmail.com -------------------"This is my Timey Wimey Detector. Goes "bing" when there's stuff. It also fries eggs at 30 paces, wether you want it to or not actually. I've learned to stay away from hens: It's not pretty when they blow" -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink" </div>

dragon04 · Feb 25, 2006

These stars were discovered by Arabs long before there was any such thing as Islam. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "2012.. Year of the Dragon!! Get on the Dragon Wagon!". </div>

thalion · Feb 25, 2006

The number of bright star names with Arabic origins is huge, dozens and dozens at least; I've always been surprised that Arabic-origin names outnumber Greek and Latin ones by a large margin.

Saiph · Feb 25, 2006

but considering that europe had to relearn material after the dark ages from arabic scholars, including astronomy, it makes sense that arabic names suplanted a lot of greek and latin names. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> --------------------SaiphMOD@gmail.com -------------------"This is my Timey Wimey Detector. Goes "bing" when there's stuff. It also fries eggs at 30 paces, wether you want it to or not actually. I've learned to stay away from hens: It's not pretty when they blow" -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink" </div>

JonClarke · Feb 25, 2006

Just the sound of those names is enough to make me want to learn Arabic ! Jon <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Whether we become a multi-planet species with unlimited horizons, or are forever confined to Earth will be decided in the twenty-first century amid the vast plains, rugged canyons and lofty mountains of Mars Arthur Clarke </div>

mlorrey · Feb 25, 2006

The constellation names are generally greek in origin. There are other names for the arabic named stars that date back to earlier civilizations, such as phoenecian names in particular, as they started navigation by the stars in the western world, although the names are usually translations of each other. It is interesting how the relative positions of stars and constellations and their names figure into mythology.

pink30 · Feb 27, 2006

Ah He Who Writes the History! The Mongol prince Mohammad Maragay Ulugh Beg built a univesity in his capital city, Samarkand, in 1420. His pet project was little a observatory. Its astrolabe had a radius of 130 feet for starters. Anyway the best and brightest hung out and the Prince himself made measurements that became part of the catalouge know as Zij Guragoni, published in 1437. It contained no fewer than 1,018 stars with mind blowing acurate work. The Prince measured the revolution of the Earth around the Sun as 365 days 6 hours 10 minutes 8 seconds for instance. Get back Mr Hubble! Anyway the book and students spread out a little tiny bit. So much for rugged individualism. PINK

wajid · Feb 27, 2006

PINK you missed one thing Ulugh Beig crater on the moon is named after this graet prince. Ulugh beg built a three story observatory in 1428 called Gurkhani zij lacking telescope to work with he increased the length of his sextant, sextant was made of marble and we know it by the name of Fakhri sextant. This observatory inspired Tycho Brahe’s famous observatory at Uraniborg and Stjerneborg.

pink30 · Feb 27, 2006

Yes Wajid! Marble with brass rails no less! There was also an brass armillary sphere of over 6 feet. What a place that must have been to study in. Do you know of any pictures we could show our students? I heard a rumor that a great deal of Russian data is available now but have not seen any. Thanks PINK

CalliArcale · Feb 27, 2006

<blockquote>In reply to:<hr />Many stars were discovered and described by Muslim Astronomers as is clear from their Arabic names. <hr /></blockquote> Actually, a lot of these stars were named by Arab astronomers before Mohammed was even born! A cool factoid. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff." -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink" </div>

tfwthom · Apr 17, 2006

I was invited to this but was unable to attend. I wonder what the star names they use. Greetings from NASA Ames Research Center in California.. My name is Daniella Scalice. I am the Education and Public Outreach Coordinator for the NASA Astrobiology Institute, and I’m co-leading an informal education project with the Navajo Nation. A joint NASA and Navajo working group has been creating astrobiology/astronomy materials which highlight both NASA research and Navajo traditional teachings. The content theme is “Our Star” which translates into (from the NASA side) the stellar life cycle and organic material in space – or, Sagan’s “we are made of star stuff.” We’re getting ready to present our newly developed materials to educators and community members working on the Navajo Reservation - we have a short video and 6 hands-on activities designed for families learning together in a “Community Night Event” setting. Participants in our upcoming workshop in February will take home prototype materials and hopefully implement them in their communities, effecting a field test (we have an evaluator who will attend). We’ll use the field test data to make final adjustments, and deliver completed “Community Night Kits” to interested Reservation communities and educators – probably in the Spring. I’m very aware and supportive of the Night Sky Network, and wanted to reach out to clubs local to the Reservation. We’d be thrilled if club leaders and/or members were interested in attending our workshop in February to become familiar with our materials and perhaps implement them as part of future, potentially Navajo-themed star parties? Please see the attached invitation, which includes a registration form and working agenda. Participation for both days of the workshop – February 7th and 8th – would be ideal. I look forward to hearing from you. Very Sincerely Yours, Daniella. -- Daniella Scalice N <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> www.siriuslookers.org </div>

mlorrey · Apr 17, 2006

I wouldn't say they were "discovered" either. They've been hanging up there in the sky for a LOOONG time for everyone to look at. They've been named many names by many different civilizations: Chinese, norse, african, native american, polynesians. Each had their own names. The west has used a lot of arabic star names because arabic star maps were one of the main sources of data for european astronomers after the dark ages (dark ages brought on at least partly by muslims, btw) ended.

CalliArcale · Apr 18, 2006

Correct, although in some cases the Arabs and other Mideast and Central Asian astronomers did have the best records on these objects. There was a famous medieval observatory in Afghanistan, in fact. The Norse did not observe them as closely. Nor did the Polynesians or Native Americans or Africans. They did make use of them for timing the seasons and for navigation, but they did not survey them as systematically as the people in the lands around the Silk Road -- from China to Arabia. BTW, despite the Arab names, many of the ancient Middle Eastern astronomers were not Arabs. The Persians and the Afghans also produced some very noted astronomers. It is a common tendency in the West to lump they all together as Arabs since they all do speak Arabic today (although not exclusively; Persians often speak Farsi, for instance). Arabic is a sort of lingua franca for Muslims, but it doesn't mean they're all Arabs. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff." -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink" </div>

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ASTRONOMY: STARS WITH ARABIC NAMES

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