903 - 986 Al-Sufi (Latinized name, Azophi)

903 - 986 Al-Sufi (Latinized name, Azophi). [astronomy]

Al-Sufi (903-986 M)

Orang Barat menyebutnya Azophi. Nama lengkapnya adalah Abdur Rahman as-Sufi. Al-Sufi merupakan sarjana Islam yang mengembangkan astronomi terapan. Ia berkontribusi besar dalam menetapkan arah laluan bagi matahari, bulan, dan planet dan juga pergerakan matahari. Dalam Kitab Al-Kawakib as-Sabitah Al-Musawwar, Azhopi menetapkan ciri-ciri bintang, memperbincangkan kedudukan bintang, jarak, dan warnanya. Ia juga ada menulis mengenai astrolabe (perkakas kuno yang biasa digunakan untuk mengukur kedudukan benda langit pada bola langit) dan seribu satu cara penggunaannya.

"Azophi" redirects here. For the lunar crater, see Azophi (crater).

'Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi (Persian: عبدالرحمن صوفی‎) (December 9, 903 in Rey, Iran – May 25, 986 in Shiraz, Iran) was a Persian[1][2] astronomer also known as 'Abd ar-Rahman as-Sufi, or 'Abd al-Rahman Abu al-Husayn, 'Abdul Rahman Sufi, 'Abdurrahman Sufi and known in the west as Azophi. The lunar crater Azophi and the minor planet 12621 Alsufi are named after him. Al-Sufi published his famous Book of Fixed Stars in 964, describing much of his work, both in textual descriptions and pictures. Biruni reports that his work on the ecliptic was carried out in Shiraz. He lived at the Buyid court in Isfahan. Sometimes, he is referred to as an "Arab" astronomer.[3][4]

He was one of the famous nine Muslim astronomers. His name implies that he was from a Sufi Muslim background. He lived at the court of Emir Adud ad-Daula in Ispahan, Persia, and worked on translating and expanding Greek astronomical works, especially the Almagest of Ptolemy. He contributed several corrections to Ptolemy's star list and did his own brightness and magnitude estimates which frequently deviated from those in Ptolemy's work.

He was a major translator into Arabic of the Hellenistic astronomy that had been centered in Alexandria, the first to attempt to relate the Greek with the traditional Arabic star names and constellations, which were completely unrelated and overlapped in complicated ways.

Astronomy  Further information: Book of Fixed Stars

The constellation Sagittarius from The Depiction of Celestial Constellations.

He identified the Large Magellanic Cloud, which is visible from Yemen, though not from Isfahan; it was not seen by Europeans until Magellan's voyage in the 16th century.[5][6] He also made the earliest recorded observation of the Andromeda Galaxy in 964 AD; describing it as a "small cloud".[7] These were the first galaxies other than the Milky Way to be observed from Earth.

He observed that the ecliptic plane is inclined with respect to the celestial equator and more accurately calculated the length of the tropical year. He observed and described the stars, their positions, their magnitudes and their colour, setting out his results constellation by constellation. For each constellation, he provided two drawings, one from the outside of a celestial globe, and the other from the inside (as seen from the earth).

Al-Sufi also wrote about the astrolabe, finding numerous additional uses for it: he described over 1000 different uses, in areas as diverse as astronomy, astrology, horoscopes, navigation, surveying, timekeeping, Qibla, Salat prayer, etc.[8]

Sufi Observing Competition[edit]

Main article: Sufi Observing Competition

Since 2006, Astronomy Society of Iran – Amateur Committee (ASIAC) hold an international Sufi Observing Competition in the memory of Sufi. The first competition was held in 2006 in the north of Semnan Province[9] and the 2nd moe observing competition was held in summer of 2008 in Ladiz near the Zahedan. More than 100 observers from Iran and Iraq participated in this event.[10]

Constellation Taurus                   Constellation Cancer

 

Constellation Lepus, Constellation Gemini, Constellation Andromeda, Constellation Ophiuchus

[astronomical instruments] Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi (Latinized name, Azophi) first described over 1,000 different uses of an astrolabe, in areas as diverse as astronomy, astrology, horoscopes, navigation, surveying, timekeeping, Qibla, Salah prayer, etc.[106]

Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi writes the Book of Fixed Stars, a star catalogue thoroughly illustrated with observations and descriptions of the stars, their positions, their apparent magnitudes and their colour. He identified the Large Magellanic Cloud, which is visible from Yemen, though not from Isfahan; it was not seen by Europeans until Magellan’s voyage in the 16th century. [107][108] He also made earliest recorded observation of the Andromeda Galaxy in 964 AD; describing it as a “small cloud”.[109] He also catalogued the Omicron Velorum star cluster as a “nebulous star”, and an additional “nebulous object” in Vulpecula, a cluster now variously known as Al Sufi’s Cluster, the “Coathanger asterism”, Brocchi’s Cluster or Collinder 399.