Al-Battani, the father of Muslim astronomers.
Nationalgeographic.co.id – Believe it or not, Islamic civilization is capable of producing so many discoveries that continue to be a guide to this day, especially in the field of technology and science. One of them is Al-Battani, the Muslim scientist in the field of astronomy.
quoted Britannica, Al-Battani’s full name is Mohammed ibn Jabir ibn Sinan Al-Harrani Al-Battani, also known as Albategnius or Albatenius was born in 858 in Harran near Urfa in present-day Turkey.
This Mesopotamian-Arab mathematician and astronomer followed in the footsteps of his father, Jabir Ibn San’an Al-Battani, a scientist who studied celestial objects. His father also raised his interest in astronomy.
Although Al-Battani’s ancestors came from the ancient Sabian sect, a star-worshipping religious sect from Harran. Some researchers assert that he himself is a Muslim.
His interest in the things in the sky continued to make him seriously pursue astronomy. In fact, in order to study astronomy, Al-Battani continued to study ancient texts by Ptolemy. Not only among Muslims, Al-Battani’s work in the field of astronomy is also famous in the Western world.
Talking about the progress of western scientists in creating technology in science is also not separated from the discoveries made by Islamic scientists in the Middle Ages.
In everyday life, Al-Battani’s work is the Christian calendar that we use today. In addition, the calculation of one year which mentions 365 days, 5 hours, 46 minutes and 24 seconds, is an applied science thanks to research conducted by Islamic scientists.
Al-Battani made major and significant contributions in astronomy and mathematics. In astronomy, he made astronomical observations for over forty years.
In addition, he made several corrections to Ptolemy’s results and made several new tables of the Sun and Moon. He could also determine the exact angle of eclipses, and he also gave the length of the solar year.
In mathematics, he discovered new relationships in trigonometry, made tables of cotangent, and created several formulas in spherical trigonometry.
He wrote the following books, Kitab Al-Zij known as Al-Zij Al-Sabi. And this book is considered the most significant work because it includes many things that have never been taken before.
Al Battani’s greatest contributions as recorded in his Zij are: he cataloged a staggering 489 stars at a time when instruments for viewing the sky were rare and rudimentary; the determination of the solar year at 365 days, 5 hours, 46 minutes and 2 seconds, is very close to the currently accepted calculations; he showed the World that the farthest distance of the sun from the Earth is variable and therefore an annular solar eclipse is possible, just like a total eclipse.
