Astrolabes and Zījes as Tools of Education and the Transmission of Scientific

Knowledge from Islamic Civilization

Glen M. Cooper
Claremont McKenna College

A while back, as part of a project to trace astrological concepts in medicine

through Greek, Arabic and Latin, I was intrigued by what David King and Charles
Burnett have written about the role of the astrolabe in transmitting science to the West.
George Saliba had taught me in graduate school at Columbia that the zījes played a large
role in the development of Islamic astronomy and its transmission. My own fascination
with calculating devices and tables is one thing that enticed me into the history of Islamic
science in the first place. Together these ingenious tools served scientific education and
research in the Muslim world and its intellectual heir, the West, as they had done in the
Greek, Persian, and Indian worlds before them.

Although today we know much more about Islamic zījes and astronomical
instruments through the research of David King and his students, as he has pointed out
there is a mass of material still to be explored—a situation that mirrors the state of the
study of Arabic scientific manuscripts generally.

While we can trace the history of astrolabes in terms of treatises on how to

construct and use them, and how to use zījes to generate almanacs and ephemerides, there
seems to be little or no evidence from actual classroom contexts about how students
actually learned these skills.1

So, in order to get greater insight into the educational context, this semester at
Claremont McKenna College I have integrated them into my history of Islamic science
course (“Science, from Islam to the West”). Students assemble and learn to use astrolabes,
and to perform general astronomical calculations, as well as specifically Islamic ones.
And they learn the theory behind planetary tables and use them to calculate the planetary
positions to place on their own natal charts. While I don’t teach them how to interpret
their charts, they gain a hands-on appreciation for the labors of pre-modern astronomers,
much of whose livelihoods depended on such astrological applications.

In the present setting, I shall sketch these devices and their histories. Then I shall
describe how these devices can be taught in a modern educational context. The historical

1
The classic study of the history of the astrolabe is: Neugebauer, O. "The Early History of the Astrolabe."
Isis 40, no. 3 (1949): 240-56.

1
part of this presentation is based on the works of Professors E. S. Kennedy and D. A.
King. The modern part is original with me.

A most ingenious device that is as useful as it is beautiful, Muslim civilization

first encountered the astrolabe in Harran, where there were astrolabe workshops,

2
according to one view.2 Harran was a site of continued Hellenism in Late Antiquity.
Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm al-Fazarī (8th C.) reportedly was the first Muslim to construct
one, but the oldest extant Islamic astrolabe dates from late 8th C. Baghdad, and is a copy
of a Byzantine exemplar.3 The earliest surviving Arabic treatise on the construction and
use of the astrolabe is by al-Khwārizmī (9th C.), but the culmination of that tradition was
al-Bīrūnī’s great 11th C. treatise.4

The astrolabe is a portable model of the cosmos that can represent the positions of
the sun and major stars at any time of the day or year for a given latitude. The rotating
rete represents the heavens, and the plate, with its fixed celestial coordinate grid,
represents the stationary earth. The observer orients himself with respect to the horizon,
meridian, zenith, and pole star. Interchangeable plates for other latitudes could be carried
inside the body of the astrolabe. The most useful aspect of the astrolabe is that, because
of the way the celestial sphere is projected onto the plate, it can solve graphically many
problems that would otherwise require spherical trigonometry.

The astrolabe on the right below once belonged to the 15th C. Timurid ruler,
Ulugh Beg (1394-1449 C.E.), who was also an astronomer and mathematician.5 On the
left are examples from the Museum of the History of Science, Oxford, which has so
many astrolabes, both Islamic and European, that you almost trip over them. Their online
catalogue is very useful.6

2
King, David A. "Astrolabes, Quadrants, and Calculating Devices." In Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE,
edited by Kate Fleet, Gudrun Krämer, Denis Matringe, John Nawas and Everett Rowson: Brill Online,
2016.
3
For a survey of Byzantine astrolabes, see: Tihon, Anne. "Traités byzantins sur l'astrolabe." Physis 32,
(1995): 323-57.
4
Kitab fi istīʿāb al-wujūh fi ṣanʿat al-asṭurlāb. See E. S. Kennedy,"al-Biruni." In Dictionary of Scientific
Biography, 147-58. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1970.
5
http://www.davidmus.dk/en/collections/islamic/dynasties/timurids-and-turkmen/art/d_25-1986 . The
catalogue states that this astrolabe was probably commissioned by Shah Rukh, Ulugh Beg’s father.
However, that makes little sense, unless he commissioned it for his son, who was the real student of
astronomy.
6
https://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/astrolabe/catalogue/

3
Museum of the History of Science,
Oxford

Astrolabe belonging to Ulugh Beg

(15th C.), from The David Collection, Copenhagen

As stated earlier, the astrolabe was an important vector of the transmission of

scientific knowledge to Europe. Below is the earliest extant astrolabe in medieval Europe,

4
the “Carolingian” astrolabe.7 For some Europeans, such as Peter Abelard, it even
symbolized the superiority of Arabic scientific culture.

Catalogue: Musée de l'Institut du monde arabe (Paris), Inventory

number : AI 86-31

Although the astrolabe was originally a Greek invention, the Arabic tradition
developed it to new heights of sophistication, just as it did with nearly everything else
from Greek.8 For example, on the left is the universal astrolabe plate invented by the 11th
C. Andalusian Ibn al-Zarqālluh, which can be used for all latitudes. On the right is the
1328/29 C.E. masterpiece designed by Ibn al-Sarrāj in Aleppo. Said to have been the
most sophisticated astrolabe ever made, it can be used universally in five different ways.9

7
Discussed in detail in: King, David A. "The Earliest Known European Astrolabe in the Light of Other
Early Astrolabes." In The Oldest Latin Astrolabe, edited by W. Stevens, G. Beaujouan and A. J. Turner,
359-404. Florence: Leo S. Olschki. Reprint, King, David A. Astrolabes from Medieval Europe, Variorum
Collected Studies. Farnham, Surrey, UK: Ashgate, 2011.
8
Neugebauer, O. "The Early History of the Astrolabe." Isis 40, no. 3 (1949): 240-56. Here, 240-241.
9
King, In Synchrony with the Heavens, vol.2, 59-63.

5
    
Universal plate of Ibn al-Zarqalluh (shakkāziyya)

The Most Sophisticated Astrolabe: Ibn al-Sarrāj

1328/29 C.E.

6
(Both images are from D. A. King. In Synchrony with the Heavens: Studies in
Astronomical Timekeeping and Instrumentation in Medieval Islamic Civilization. Volume
Two: Instruments of Mass Calculation. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 2005, pp. 59; 61.)

Astrolabes were only the beginning of ingenious instrument design in Islam. They
are best known in the West because they were one of the intriguing devices brought back
to Europe from the Muslim world in the 10th-11th Centuries, which spurred the Latins on
to study math and astronomy. There were a host of other instruments for various purposes,
most of which are known now only by their descriptions. An important exception is the
universal qibla computer below, which we have heard about already today, whose
projection of geography enables the nomographical determination of the sacred direction
for many cities.10

From D. A. King. World-Maps for Finding the Direction and Distance to Mecca:
Innovation and Tradition in Islamic Science. Leiden, 1999.
10
It is itself based on math and prototypes developed much earlier in Islam. (King, World-Maps, pp.225-
260).

7
 Zīj Ulugh Beg, 1665 CE Indian copy (Christie’s)11 This section is a table of the
equation (taʿdīl) of the Sun.

11
ZĪJ ULUGH BEG (ASTRONOMICAL TABLES OF ULUGH BEG), SIGNED MUHAMMAD
FATHULLAH BIN MUHAMMAD HUSAYN BAGRAMI, INDIA, DATED 19 RABI' II 1076/29
OCTOBER 1665 AD. Persian manuscript on paper, 223ff. as numbered plus two fly-leaves, most folios
with tables in red and black, each with a title in black or red naskh script above, sections of text with 21-
24ll. of black naskh script, occasional words picked out in red, others overlined in red, old repairs
throughout, paginated, old seal impression of 'Mir 'Atiq devotee of Ahmad Shah Padshah Ghazi' dated AH
1162, in pink cloth covered binding. Folio 9 1/8 x 5 ¼in. (23.2 x 13.1cm.) (From:
http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/Lot/zij-ulugh-beg-astronomical-tables-of-ulugh-5826214-details.aspx )

8
 A page from another zīj

Zījes were the earliest kind of astronomical text to be composed in Arabic. Called
“zīj” because their characteristic form resembles a loom,12 there were zīj traditions in
Sanskrit and Pahlavi, which, along with Ptolemy’s Handy Tables, influenced the Islamic
tradition.13 Zījes consisted of numerous kinds of tables and algorithms14 for the
computation of planetary positions, prayer times, and much more. They conveyed a great
deal of astronomical knowledge, via the models that generated the tables, and the
numerical parameters on which they were based.

12
For a discussion of the etymology, see: Kennedy, E. S. "A Survey of Islamic Astronomical Tables."
Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 46, no. 2 (1956): 123-77; here, pp.123-124.
13
Ptolemy. Ptolemaiou Procheiroi Kanones. Ptolemy's Handy Tables, Volume 1b: Tables A1-A2.
Transcription and Commentary by R. Mercier, Publications de l’Institut Orientaliste de Louvain, 59B.
Leuven: Peeters, 2011. Ibid., Ptolemaiou Procheiroi Kanones. Les Tables Faciles de Ptolemee. Ptolemy's
Handy Tables: Volume 1a: Tables A1-A2: Introduction. Edition Critique by Anne Tihon, Publications de
l’Institut Orientaliste de Louvain, 59B. Leuven: Peeters, 2011.
14
This very useful word comes from the Arabic scientific tradition: the Latin form of Muḥammad ibn Mūsā
al-Khwārizmī (d.c. 850 C.E.), the great Muslim algebraist.

9
 Professor Kennedy’s chart below shows the legacies of zījes between several
cultures. The earliest known zīj that was of interest to Muslim astronomers was the zīj al-
Arkand, an Arabic version of a Sanskrit original with Pahlavi sources, composed in Sind,
735 CE. The most important Indian zīj to be studied in Islam was the Mahāsiddhanta,
translated by al-Fazārī as Zīj al-Sindhind al-kabir.15 Al-Khwārizmī’s Zīj al-Sindhind (not
the same as al-Fazārī’s translation) is the earliest non-fragmentary zīj to survive from the
Arabic tradition, although it is extant only in Latin translation. The correction and
improvement of zījes were justifications for the imperial sponsorship of observational
astronomy. The first major such effort was Al-Ma’mūn’s sponsored astronomical
observations of 828-829 C.E., which resulted in a new zīj, corrected via new observations,
the al-Zīj al-Mumtaḥan (“The verified zīj”), by Yaḥyā ibn Abī Manṣūr (d.832 C.E.).16

15
Pingree, David. "The Fragments of the Works of al-Fazari." Journal of Near Eastern Studies 29, (1970):
103-23; here, 103.
16
See Sayili, Aydin. The Observatory in Islam: And its Place in the General History of the Observatory.
Vol. 38, Publications of the Turkish Historical Society Series. Ankara, Turkey: Turkish Historical Society,
1960. Reprint, Arno Press, New York, 1981, 50-87.

10
From: Kennedy, E. S. "A Survey of Islamic Astronomical Tables." Transactions
of the American Philosophical Society 46, no. 2 (1956): 123-77

11
 From Chaucer’s Astrolabe Treatise (c.1391 CE)17

Geoffrey Chaucer (d. 1400) (Canterbury Tales), wrote this for his son, Louis. Comprehensive and
clear, it could be used as a manual today. Students used astrolabes in their education to learn basic
principles of math and astronomy (quadrivium). Chaucer was well aware of the Arabic origins of
the astrolabe.

17
See discussion in: Chism, Christine. "Transmitting the Astrolabe: Chaucer, Islamic Astronomy, and the
Astrolabic Text." In Medieval Textual Cultures: Agents of Transmission, Translation, and Transformation,
edited by Faitn Wallis and Robert Wisnovsky, 85-120. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2016.

12
 When teaching the history of Islamic astronomy, showing diagrams of astrolabes
and planetary models is too abstract for most students. Learning to use the tables helps
them to better appreciate why the models were devised and refined. Moreover,
assembling an astrolabe and learning how to calculate with it gives them deeper insight
than any amount of reading can do.

Although instruction manuals survive, we know very little about how these tools
were actually taught. Therefore, I decided to do an experiment in my history of Islamic
science course this semester, in order to seek insights from a modern classroom
experiment. In my course I am testing how a group of modern students, mostly innocent
of astronomy, would learn to use these devices effectively, how much background
knowledge would I need to provide, and how much would they be able to learn, not only
about the ancient cosmos, but also about Islamic astronomy and its role in Islamic society,
in particular. There are special challenges for 21 Century students, for: How many stars
st

can you actually see in London or Los Angeles in the evening? And can it be taught
within a semester? In effect, I am requiring that students practice seeing the cosmos from
the point of view of the 9th Century Muslims, as much as possible. By this experiment I
hope to shed light on the thesis that the astrolabe was an important vector of
mathematical and astronomical knowledge to Europe, and that it was pregnant with
learning implications.

While I plan eventually to generate my own plates and faces for astrolabes using
my own computer programs and make them more Islamic in style, for now I use this
website, which generates EPS files for the plates for your precise desired latitude, and
provides a time correction for your longitude. The site is called “The Astrolabe Project”.
The author gives his name as “Richard Wymarc”, which is a nom de plume of Timothy J.
Mitchell. He has generously provided the program as a standalone web-based
application.18

As you can see from these screenshots, the program allows you to customize your
astrolabe by choosing between various features. The possible variations become very
numerous with the back, since many options are provided, drawn from historical
examples.
Here is my classroom demonstration model. It is set on paper glued to a
Styrofoam board. See how all of the parts move. The only thing lacking is the sighting

18
Mitchell also provides an instruction manual:
http://astrolabeproject.com/downloads/Astrolabe_the_Missing_Manual.pdf

13
device that traditionally is found on the alidade. Because the paper astrolabe is relatively
fragile, this feature is impractical. In future, I intend to construct a wooden model, and
will include the sighting apparatus. I provide students with a file containing all of the
pieces to print out on cardstock. The rete is printed on a transparent acetate sheet. The
whole thing is assembled with a small screw and nut.
For now English is more useful than Arabic because most or all of my students do
not know Arabic, and anyway all of these features are standard to many Islamic
astrolabes.

14
(http://astrolabeproject.com/build/astrolabe.html#app=c4ba&7ebb-selectedIndex=0 )

Below are the front plates for London and Claremont, CA, where I live, and you
can see how the difference in latitude affects the arcs. The horizon line runs up and down,
bisecting the large circle, and this grid helps to locate objects in the sky.

15
London, 51° 30’ N Latitude

16
Claremont, CA, 34° 6’ N Latitude

The back has a nomograph for converting between the civil calendar and the solar
longitude in Zodiac coordinates, by aligning the alidade (the rule with the sighting tube).
Another useful feature are the cotangent scales in the bottom half, which are used to
convert a gnomon’s shadow length into an angle to determine the sun’s altitude.

17
 The arcs and lines on the front plate can all be drawn using a straight edge and
compass. That is an assignment for a higher level course. Professor Saliba had me do this
in graduate school, and it was one of the most import things I ever did in my education.
Both Evans and Morrison describe how to do this.19

19
Morrison, James E. The Astrolabe. Rehoboth Beach, DE, USA: Janus, 2007, pp.67-94.
Evans, James. The History and Practice of Ancient Astronomy. New York / Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1998, pp.158-161.

18
 The rete (“net”) contains the moving parts of the astrolabe, and by rotating it, one
can mirror the state of the heavens at any time of day or night for any day of the year.
Problems that would require spherical trigonometry are solved visually.

The first thing I do is to have the students locate the Sun on the ecliptic circle of
the rete, for a given solar longitude. I ask them to imagine a little orange dot at that point,
in order to keep the sun in mind as they rotate the rete in their calculations. After finding

19
the horizon, I show them how to trace the sun’s arc through the day, from sunrise to
sunset, noting how that arc is larger or smaller, depending on the season. The astrolabe is
a kind of 24 hour clock. Then I ask them how they would find the time of sunrise. The
answer is to align the sun and the rule at the eastern horizon, and read the time of sunrise
from the outer scale. Students grasp this fairly easily. I next ask them how far north or
south of due east will the sun rise? They use the azimuth lines to determine the degree
difference between the Sun’s rising point and due east.

The times they find are local apparent solar time, which are different from clock
time, so I show them how to use the Equation of Time and the Time Zone Correction to
get clock time. For now they use a graph like this one below. A real zīj has a table like
the following, which I’ve created to be an excerpt from a “modern” zīj.

20
 Equation of Time Table from a “Modern zīj”
(excerpt)

DAY NUMBER CALENDAR DATE EQUATION OF TIME

1 Jan 1 -4 m 34 s
2 Jan 2 -4 m 59 s
3 Jan 3 -5 m 24 s
4 Jan 4 -5 m 49 s
5 Jan 5 -6 m 13 s
6 Jan 6 -6 m 37 s
7 Jan 7 -7 m 0 s
8 Jan 8 -7 m 23 s
9 Jan 9 -7 m 46 s
10 Jan 10 -8 m 8 s
11 Jan 11 -8 m 29 s
12 Jan 12 -8 m 50 s
13 Jan 13 -9 m 10 s
14 Jan 14 -9 m 30 s
15 Jan 15 -9 m 49 s

After students have practiced with rising and setting times, finding the Ascendant,
and telling time from the Sun’s (or a star’s) altitude, they are ready to calculate Islamic
prayer times. Since this is a history of Islamic science course, they already know what
these are and why they are important. I have them fill out this chart for a given day. Four
of the prayer times are straightforward and can be determined using the front of the
astrolabe, by positing the Sun in the appropriate position. The Salat al-‘Asr, the afternoon

21
prayer, however, is more complicated, since it is defined as the time when the sun’s
shadow equals the length of the gnomon plus the shadow length at noon.20

ISLAMIC PRAYER TIMES EXERCISE NAME__________________________

INSTRUCTIONS: Use your astrolabe to complete this chart. Fill in the columns with the times
corresponding to the bolded terms in Column 2.

Prayer Definition Date Date

1 2
SOLAR LONGITUDE (Use astrolabe back to
determine)

‫صالة الفجر‬
Begins at dawn

Ṣalāt al-fajr
Ends at sunrise

‫صالة الظهر‬
Begins at noon

Ṣalāt al-ẓuhr
Ends at Ṣalāt al-ʿaṣr

‫صالة العصر‬
Begins when an object’s
shadow equals its own
Ṣalāt al-ʿaṣr length plus its length at
noon (majority view)
(Use the special procedure
on the handout)
Ends at sunset

‫صالة المغرب‬
Begins at sunset

Ṣalāt al-maġrib
Ends at twilight

‫صالة العشاء‬
Begins at twilight

Ṣalāt al-ʿišāʾ
Ends at dawn
(next day)

The cotangent nomograph is used to convert gnomon ratios to angles and vice
versa.

20
This is one accepted definition. The others can all be calculated with the astrolabe in a similar manner.

22
 So, to determine the starting time of Salat al-‘Asr, I have them fill out the
following chart, an algorithm that employs the cotangent scale. This prayer time requires
them to do two iterations of cotangents and arccotangents.

23
 CALCULATING ṢALĀT AL-ʿAṢR USING THE ASTROLABE NAME________________________
Worksheet (using the majority method)

STEPS RESULT 1 RESULT 2

GIVEN CALENDAR DATE:

DETERMINE THE SOLAR LONGITUDE FOR THE DATE. Using the

calendar scale on the back of the astrolabe.

DETERMINE THE ALTITUDE OF THE SUN AT NOON. Align the point

on the ecliptic circle corresponding to solar longitude with the
Meridian line. Read off the solar altitude from the almucantar
circle (in degrees).

DETERMINE THE COTANGENT OF THIS ANGLE. On the back of the

astrolabe, using one of the upper quadrant angles scales, align the
alidade with the noon solar altitude angle that you just found. Read
the number from the Cotangent Scale at the other end of the
alidade, as a factor of 7 or 12, depending on the scale you choose. + 12 = + 12 =
(This will be a whole number for purpose of this scale). Add 12 to
this number.

FIND THE ARCCOTANGENT (INVERSE COTANGENT) OF THIS

NUMBER by reversing the procedure you just followed. I.e. align
the alidade with this new number on the Cotangent Scale, and read
off the angle from the opposite quadrant scale, from the other end
of the alidade. The result is the altitude of the sun in the
afternoon when ṣalāt al-ʿasr is to begin.

NOW DETERMINE THE TIME CORRESPONDING TO THIS ALTITUDE.

On the front of the astrolabe align the solar longitude point with
the almucantar corresponding to the solar altitude in the afternoon
quadrant, and read the time from the hour scale. This is the time
when ṣalāt al-ʿasr is to begin according to local apparent solar
time.

CONVERT THIS TIME TO CLOCK TIME

If Daylight Savings Time is in effect, then add 1 hour.

Subtract the value of the Equation of Time for the given date.

(E of T value = ________________)
Add the Time Zone Correction (printed on the back of your
astrolabe).
(TZC = _____________________)

THE RESULT IS THE CLOCK TIME WHEN ṢALĀT AL-ʿASR IS TO BEGIN.

This algorithm enables students to do with greater precision what this nomograph
on the back of the astrolabe below was meant to do. Using an astrolabe for determining
prayer times may not have been common, when prayer times were commonly available in
tables. But it is a convenient backup method.

24
 In all, my students have learned to perform all of these operations with their
astrolabes:
• Time of day from the sun’s shadow
• Time of night from a star’s elevation
• Time of sunrise and sunset
• Rising and setting times of significant stars (Arcturus and Sirius)
• Length of daylight
• Determining equinoctial and seasonal hours
• Azimuthal deviation sun’s rising and setting from due east and west
• Sun’s altitude at noon
• The Ascendant, Midheaven, Descendant, and the Lower Heaven (Imum
Caeli), astrologically useful points
• Use of cotangent scale to infer elevation angle from shadow length
• Determination of Islamic prayer times, especially the complicated Salat al-
‘Asr
These are just some of the possible uses of the astrolabe. Many more are
described in the Arabic manuals.

Learning to use Zīj Planetary Tables

When I was a graduate student, Professor Saliba had me construct an astrolabe

from scratch, and work through the mathematics behind Ptolemy’s planetary models.
However, because I can’t require all that of students in a history survey course, there are

25
books by Pedersen and Evans that have provided helpful shortcuts.21
I teach studnets how the basic planetary models were derived, and how their
parameters were determined from observation, noting the physical impossibility of the
Equant point in the model for Mars. I explain that they will first determine the
approximate position of the planet by using the mean motion tables, and then adjust it
more precisely using “equation” tables, all by addition and subtraction. This is done
instead of using trigonometry, which has already been done by the zīj compiler. Since
this assignment is integrated with the history of Islamic astronomy unit, they learn about
the critique and improvement of Ptolemy’s models by Muslim astronomers. Moreover, a
similar technique is still used today in applied mathematics, for example, when finding
approximate solutions of differential equations.

Then I introduce them to the three Zīj-Tables that they will use to determine the
solar equation. They are: The table of mean motions, the table of the solar apogee, and
the table of the solar equation.

21
Evans, James. The History and Practice of Ancient Astronomy. New York / Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1998. Pedersen, Olaf. A Survey of the Almagest. With Annotation and New Commentary by
Alexander Jones. Revised ed, Sources and Studies in the History of Mathematics and Physical Sciences.
New York: Springer, 2011.

26
 MEAN LONGITUDE OF SUN, TIME INCREMENTS

DAYS LONGITUDE DAYS LONGITUDE DAYS LONGITUDE

100,000 284° 44.0' 10,000 136° 28.4' 1,000 265° 38.9'

200,000 209° 28.0' 20,000 272° 56.8' 2,000 171° 17.8'
300,000 134° 12.0' 30,000 49° 25.2' 3,000 76° 56.6'
400,000 58° 56.0' 40,000 185° 53.6' 4,000 342° 35.5'
500,000 343° 40.1' 50,000 322° 22.0' 5,000 248° 14.4'
600,000 268° 24.1' 60,000 98° 50.4' 6,000 153° 53.0'
700,000 193° 08.1' 70,000 235° 18.8' 7,000 59° 31.9'
800,000 117° 52.1' 80,000 11° 47.2' 8,000 325° 10.7'
900,000 42° 36.1' 90,000 148° 15.6' 9,000 230° 49.6'

100 98° 33.9' 10 9° 51.4' 1 0° 59.1'

200 197° 7.8' 20 19° 42.8' 2 1° 58.3'
300 295° 41.7' 30 29° 34.2' 3 2° 57.4'
400 34° 15.6' 40 39° 25.6' 4 3° 56.6'
500 132° 49.4' 50 49° 16.9' 5 4° 55.7'
600 231° 23.3' 60 59° 08.3' 6 5° 54.8'
700 329° 57.2' 70 68° 59.7' 7 6° 54.0
800 68° 31.1' 80 78° 51.1' 8 7° 53.1'
900 167° 05.0' 90 88° 42.5' 9 8° 52.2'

HOURS LONGITUDE HOURS LONGITUDE MINUTES LONGITUDE

1 0° 02.5' 13 0° 32.0' 10 0° 0.4'

2 0° 04.9' 14 0° 34.5' 20 0° 0.8'
3 0° 07.4' 15 0° 37.0' 30 0° 1.2'
4 0° 09.8' 16 0° 39.4' 40 0° 1.6'
5 0° 12.3' 17 0° 41.9' 50 0° 2.1'
6 0° 14.8' 18 0° 44.4' 60 0° 2.5'
7 0° 17.2' 19 0° 46.8'
8 0° 19.7' 20 0° 49.3'
9 0° 22.2' 21 0° 51.7'
10 0° 24.6' 22 0° 54.2'
11 0° 27.1' 23 0° 56.7'
12 0° 29.6' 24 0° 59.1'

Table of the Longitude of the Solar Apogee (adapted from Evans, p.228)

YEAR LONGITUDE YEAR LONGITUDE YEAR LONGITUDE 10-YEAR MOTION

INTERVALS
801 B.C. 53°57' 200 71°25' 1200 88°53' 10 0°10'
A.D. A.D.
701 55°42' 300 73°10' 1300 90°38' 20 0°21'
601 57°27' 400 74°55' 1400 92°23' 30 0°31'
501 59°12' 500 76°40' 1500 94°8' 40 0°42'
401 60°57' 600 78°24' 1600 95°53' 50 0°52'
301 62°41' 700 80°09' 1700 97°37' 60 1°03'
201 64°26' 800 81°54' 1800 99°21' 70 1°13'
101 66°11' 900 83°39' 1900 101°06' 80 1°24'
1 B.C. 67°56' 1000 85°23' 2000 102°51' 90 1°34'
100 A.D. 69°40' 1100 87°08' 2100 104°36'

27
 Table of the Equation of Center of the Sun (adapted from Evans, p.229)

MEAN ANOMALY EQUATION OF MEAN ANOMALY EQUATION OF

CENTER CENTER
0° (360) -(+) 0°0' 90° (270) -(+) 1°55'
5° (355) 0°10' 95° (265) 1°55'
10° (350) 0°19' 100° (260) 1°54'
15° (345) 0°29' 105° (255) 1°52'
20° (340) 0°38' 110° (250) 1°49'
25° (335) 0°47' 115° (245) 1°46'
30° (330) 0°56' 120° (240) 1°41'
35° (325) 1°04' 125° (235) 1°36'
40° (320) 1°12' 130° (230) 1°30'
45° (315) 1°19' 135° (225) 1°23'
50° (310) 1°26' 140° (220) 1°16'
55° (305) 1°32' 145° (215) 1°08'
60° (300) 1°38' 150° (210) 0°59'
65° (295) 1°43' 155° (205) ---
70° (290) 1°47' 160° (200) ---
75° (285) 1°50' 165° (195) ---
80° (280) 1°52' 170° (190) ---
85° (275) 1°54' 175° (185) ---
90° (270) 1°55' 180° (180) ---

Below is the algorithm they follow. This chart covers every step with an
explanation. First they compute the Sun’s mean position, and then adjust it with the
equation from this table. The spreadsheet does the sexagesimal arithmetic for them. I
have previously taught them how to do all of the operations in sexagesimal, but decided
that it would be too much to make them do all of it in base 60.

28
Determine the Solar Longitude for a Given Date

Calculate the days between Epoch and your date

Date Time Zone
Year Month Day Time Line
1996 1 1 1

Julian Day Number 2450083

Difference in days 35063 2

Use the Longitude tables to find the change in Mean

Longitude
Increment (mean longitude)
Time Element (Number of Days)
Degrees Minutes
100,000s 3
10,000s 4
1000s 5
100s 6
10s 7
1s 8
Hours 9
Minutes (10 min. increments) 10

Result: The total change in

Sun's mean motion since 0 0
Epoch 11

Add the Mean Value at

279 42 12
Epoch.

Result: The Mean Longitude, 279 42 13

and the Mean Epicyclic
Anomaly of the planet at the Total Mean Longitude
given time

Determine the Longitude of the Apogee

Degrees Minutes
Use the century year
immediately before the given
year, and get the result (Use
the chart) 14
Add the value for the
difference between the century
year and the given year, to the
nearest decade 15

Result: Longitude of the 0 0

16
Solar Apogee
Longitude of the Solar Apogee

Calculate the Mean Anomaly

29
Degrees Minutes

From the Mean Longitude

17 From line 13
the chart) 14
Add the value for the
difference between the century
year and the given year, to the
nearest decade 15

Result: Longitude of the 0 0 16

Solar Apogee Longitude of the Solar Apogee

Calculate the Mean Anomaly

Degrees Minutes

From the Mean Longitude

17 From line 13
Subtract the Longitude of the
Apogee 18 From line 16
Result: Mean Anomaly (if <
0 0 19
0, add 360°)

Determine the Equation of Center

Degrees Minutes
Using Mean Anomaly as the
argument, get Equation of 12 3
Center (q) from Table 5.3 20
If Mean Anomaly is between 0° and 180°, then Equation of
Center is negative (Add - sign to both Degrees and Minutes) 20a
If Mean Anomaly is between 180° and 360°, then Equation of
Center is positive. 20b

Calculate Solar Longitude

Degrees Minutes
Add: Mean Longitude 21 From line 13
to: Equation of Center 22 From line 20

Result: Longitude of the Sun 0 0 23

Sun's Position on the Zodiac

24

Print out the chart and hand in to me.

30
 Instructions for Using the Solar Longitude Spreadsheet
Step 1: Insert your date in line 1. The difference in days is in line 2.

Step 2: Take the difference in days number, and write it as digits and powers of ten,
e.g. write 23456 as: 2*10000 + 3*1000 + 4*100 + 5*10 + 6

Step 3: Take each of these number elements and consult the Mean Longitude of Sun
table, and take out the angle corresponding to it, and input it into the row of the
spreadsheet corresponding to that power of ten (lines 3-10). All of these increments will
add up and the sum will appear in line 11. The program will automatically add the mean
value of the solar longitude at Epoch for you, and the result will appear in line 13. You
will need this Mean Longitude twice more in the spreadsheet.

Step 4: Consult Table 5.2 Longitude of the Solar Apogee, following the instructions on
line 14. Take out the Longitude of the Apogee, and input it in line 14. Take from the
table also the apogee increment to the nearest decade, from the rightmost column. The
result will appear in line 16, this is the Longitude of the Solar Apogee.

Step 5: Get the Mean Longitude from line 13, and input it into line 17. Get the
Longitude of the Solar Apogee from line 16, and input it into line 18. The result is the
Mean Anomaly, which will appear in line 19.

Step 6: Use the Mean Anomaly as the argument, and consult Table 5.3 Equation of the
Center of the Sun. Find the nearest value in the column, and take out the corresponding
vale from the right column. That is the absolute value of the Equation of Center. Put it
into line 20. To determine its sign (+/-) follow the instructions in lines 20a and 20b. If
the Equation of Center is negative, then put a negative sign in front of BOTH
DEGREES and MINUTES.

Step 7: From line 13, put the Mean Longitude into line 21. And from line 20, put the
Equation of Center into line 22. The result will be the Sun’s longitude for your date and
time.

Step 8: Determine the Zodiac Sign and Degree. Using the Signs and their Degrees
Longitude Chart, follow the instructions to find k. Use k to find the Zodiac Sign in
which the Sun is found. The remainder is the degree in that Sign. So, e.g. if your Solar
Longitude came out to be 319 degrees and 17.5 minutes, k is 10, and the remainder is 19
degrees, 17.5 minutes. So your Sign is Aquarius. The Sun’s position is then Aquarius 19
degrees, 17.5 minutes. Type that into line 24 of the spreadsheet.

Step 9: Print out your spreadsheet, and save it. Hand the printout in to me on Tuesday.

Once they have mastered the solar equation, they are ready to tackle the upper
planet, Mars, which requires them to determine two mean motions and two equations,
one for the center of the epicycle and one for Mars’s position on the epicycle. These
tables are more complicated …

31
 MEAN LONGITUDE AND MEAN EPICYCLIC ANOMALY OF MARS, TIME INCREMENTS

EPICYCLIC EPICYCLIC EPICYCLIC

DAYS LONGITUDE DAYS LONGITUDE DAYS LONGITUDE
ANOMALY ANOMALY ANOMALY
100,000 207° 7.0' 77° 37.1' 10,000 200° 42.7' 295° 45.7' 1,000 164° 4.3' 101° 34.6'
200,000 54° 13.9' 155° 14.2' 20,000 41° 25.4' 231° 31.4' 2,000 328° 8.5' 203° 9.1'
300,000 261° 20.9' 232° 51.2' 30,000 242° 8.1' 167° 17.1' 3,000 132° 12.8' 304° 43.7'
400,000 108° 27.8' 310° 28.3' 40,000 82° 50.8' 103° 2.8' 4,000 296° 17.1' 46° 18.3'
500,000 315° 34.8' 28° 5.4' 50,000 283° 33.5' 38° 48.5' 5,000 100° 21.3' 147° 52.9'
600,000 162° 41.8' 105° 42.5' 60,000 124° 16.2' 334° 34.2' 6,000 264° 25.6' 249° 27.4'
700,000 9° 48.7' 183° 19.6' 70,000 324° 58.9' 270° 20.0' 7,000 68° 29.9' 351° 2.0'
800,000 216° 55.7' 260° 56.6' 80,000 165° 41.6' 206° 5.7' 8,000 232° 34.2' 92° 36.6'
900,000 64° 2.6' 338° 33.7' 90,000 6° 24.3' 141° 51.4' 9,000 36° 38.4' 194° 11.1'

100 52° 24.4' 46° 9.5' 10 5° 14.4' 4° 36.9' 1 0° 31.4' 0° 27.7'

200 104° 48.9' 92° 18.9' 20 10° 28.9' 9° 13.9' 2 1° 2.9' 0° 55.4'
300 157° 13.3' 138° 28.4' 30 15° 43.3' 13° 50.8' 3 1° 34.3' 1° 23.1'
400 209° 37.7' 184° 37.8' 40 20° 57.8' 18° 27.8' 4 2° 5.8' 1° 50.8'
500 262° 2.1' 230° 47.3' 50 26° 12.2' 23° 4.7' 5 2° 37.2' 2° 18.5'
600 314° 26.6' 276° 56.7' 60 31° 26.7' 27° 41.7' 6 3° 8.7' 2° 46.2'
700 6° 51.0' 323° 6.2' 70 36° 41.1' 32° 18.6' 7 3° 40.1' 3° 13.9'
800 59° 15.4' 9° 15.7' 80 41° 55.5' 36° 55.6' 8 4° 11.6' 3° 41.6'
900 111° 39.8' 55° 25.1' 90 47° 10.0' 41° 32.5' 9 4° 43.0' 4° 9.3'

EPICYCLIC EPICYCLIC EPICYCLIC

HOURS LONGITUDE HOURS LONGITUDE MINUTES LONGITUDE
ANOMALY ANOMALY ANOMALY
1 0° 1.3' 0° 1.2' 13 0° 17.0' 0° 15.0' 10 0° 0.2' 0° 0.2'
2 0° 2.6' 0° 2.3' 14 0° 18.3' 0° 16.2' 20 0° 0.4' 0° 0.4'
3 0° 3.9' 0° 3.5' 15 0° 19.7' 0° 17.3' 30 0° 0.7' 0° 0.6'
4 0° 5.2' 0° 4.6' 16 0° 21.0' 0° 18.5' 40 0° 0.9' 0° 0.8'
5 0° 6.6' 0° 5.8' 17 0° 22.3' 0° 19.6' 50 0° 1.1' 0° 1.0'
6 0° 7.9' 0° 6.9' 18 0° 23.6' 0° 20.8' 60 0° 1.3' 0° 1.2'
7 0° 9.2' 0° 8.1' 19 0° 24.9' 0° 21.9'
8 0° 10.5' 0° 9.2' 20 0° 26.2' 0° 23.1'
9 0° 11.8' 0° 10.4' 21 0° 27.5' 0° 24.2'
10 0° 13.1' 0° 11.5' 22 0° 28.8' 0° 25.4'
11 0° 14.4' 0° 12.7' 23 0° 30.1' 0° 26.5'
12 0° 15.7' 0° 13.8' 24 0° 31.4' 0° 27.7'

Table of the Longitude of the Martian Apogee (adapted from Evans, p.375)

YEAR LONGITUDE YEAR LONGITUDE YEAR LONGITUDE 10 YEAR MOTION

PERIODS
801 B.C. 99°34' 200 117°38' 1200 135°42' 10 0°11'
A.D. A.D.
701 101°23' 300 119°26' 1300 137°30' 20 0°22'
601 103°11' 400 121°15' 1400 139°18' 30 0°33'
501 105°00' 500 123°03' 1500 141°07' 40 0°43'
401 106°48' 600 124°51' 1600 142°55' 50 0°54'
301 108°36' 700 126°40' 1700 144°43' 60 1°05'
201 110°25' 800 128°28' 1800 146°32' 70 1°16'
101 112°13' 900 130°16' 1900 148°20' 80 1°27'
1 B.C. 114°01' 1000 132°05' 2000 150°08' 90 1°38'
100 A.D. 115°50' 1100 133°53' 2100 151°57'

32
 Table of Equations for Mars (adapted from Evans, p.375)

COMMON EQUATION EQUATION OF THE EPICYCLE (ARGUMENT μ) INTERPOLATION

ARGUMENT OF Diminution Equation Augmentation COEFFICIENT
CENTER at Apogee at mean at Perigee (ARG α BAR)
Distance
0° (360) -(+) 0°00' 0' -(+) 0°00' 0' Dim 1.000
5° (355) 0°56' 07' 1°59' 08' 0.998
10° (350) 1°51' 14' 3°58' 16' 0.990
15° (345) 2°46' 21' 5°56' 24' 0.978
20° (340) 3°40' 28' 7°54' 32' 0.961
25° (335) 4°33' 35' 9°52' 40' 0.939
30° (330) 5°24' 43' 11°49' 48' 0.911
35" (325) 6°13' 50' 13°45' 57' 0.879
40° (320) 7°00' 58' 15°41' 65' 0.841
45° (315) 7°44' 65' 17°35' 74' 0.799
50° (310) 8°26' 73' 19°28' 83' 0.750
55° (305) 9°04' 82' 21°20' 93' 0.697
60° (300) 9°39' 90' 23°10' 103' 0.638
65° (295) 10°10' 99' 24°58' 113' 0.573
70° (290) 10"37' 109' 26°44' 124' 0.504
75° (285) 11°00' 118' 28°27' 136' 0.428
80° (280) 11°18' 129' 30°07' 148' 0.348
85° (275) 11°32' 140' 31°44' 161' 0.262
90° (270) 11°41' 151' 33°17' 175' 0.171
95° (265) 11°45' 163' 34°44' 189' Dim 0.075
100° (260) 11°43' 176' 36°07' 205' Aug 0.019
105° (255) 11°23' 190' 37°22' 223' 0.096
110° (250) 11°36' 205' 38°30' 241' 0.176
115° (245) 11°05' 221' 39°27' 262' 0.258
120° (240) 10°41' 238' 40° 14' 284' 0.340
125° (235) 10°11' 256' 40°46' 309' 0.423
130° (230) 9°36' 274' 41°01' 336' 0.505
135° (225) 8°56' 293' 40°53' 365' 0.584
140° (220) 8°11' 312' 40°19' 397' 0.660
145° (215) 7°21' 329' 39°09' 430' 0.732
150° (210) 6°27' 342' 37°15' 462' 0.798
155° (205) 5°29' 346' 34°24' 488' 0.856
160° (200) 4°27' 334' 30°21' 499' 0.906
165° (195) 3°23' 299' 21°54' 476' 0.946
170° (190) 2°17' 231' 17°52' 394' 0.976
175° (185) 1°09' 127' 9°23' 231' 0.994
180° (180) - (+) 0°00' 0' -(+) 0°00' 0' Aug 1.000

As is the algorithm.

33
 Determine the Martian Longitude for a Given Date

Calculate the days between Epoch and your date

Date Time Zone
Year Month Day Time
2017 3 18

Julian Day Number 2457830

Difference in days 42810

Use the Longitude tables to find the change in Mean Longitude and Mean
Epicyclic Anomaly
Increment (mean epicyclic
Increment (mean longitude)
Time Element (Number of Days) anomaly)
Degrees Minutes Degrees Minutes
100,000s
10,000s
1000s
100s
10s
1s
Hours
Minutes (10 min. increments)

Result: The total change in

0 0 0 0
mean motion since Epoch

Add the Mean Values at

293 33 346 8.8
Epoch.
Result: The Mean Longitude,
293 33 346 8.8
and the Mean Epicyclic
Anomaly of the planet at the Total Mean Longitude Total Mean Epicyclic Anomaly

Determine the Longitude of the Apogee

Degrees Minutes
Use the century year
immediately before the given
year, and get the result (Use
the chart)
Add the value for the
difference between the century
year and the given year, to the
nearest decade

Result: Longitude of the

0 0
Apogee

Calculate the Mean Eccentric Anomaly

Degrees Minutes

From the Mean Longitude

Subtract the Longitude of the
Apogee

Result: Mean Eccentric

0 0
Anomaly (if < 0, add 360°)

Determine the Equation of Center

Degrees Minutes
Using Mean Eccentric
Anomaly as the argument, get
34
Equation of Center (q) from
the table
If Mean Eccentric Anomaly is between 0° and 180°, then
Epoch.
Result: The Mean Longitude,
293 33 346 8.8
and the Mean Epicyclic
Anomaly of the planet at the Total Mean Longitude Total Mean Epicyclic Anomaly

Determine the Longitude of the Apogee

Degrees Minutes
Use the century year
immediately before the given
year, and get the result (Use
the chart)
Add the value for the
difference between the century
year and the given year, to the
nearest decade

Result: Longitude of the

0 0
Apogee

Calculate the Mean Eccentric Anomaly

Degrees Minutes

From the Mean Longitude

Subtract the Longitude of the
Apogee

Result: Mean Eccentric

0 0
Anomaly (if < 0, add 360°)

Determine the Equation of Center

Degrees Minutes
Using Mean Eccentric
Anomaly as the argument, get
Equation of Center (q) from
the table
If Mean Eccentric Anomaly is between 0° and 180°, then
Equation of Center is negative (Add - sign to both Degrees and
Minutes)

If Mean Eccentric Anomaly is between 180° and 360°, then

Equation of Center is positive. Interpolate carefully

Determine the True Epicyclic Anomaly

Degrees Minutes
From the Mean Epicyclic
Anomaly
Subtract Equation of Center

Result: True Epicyclic

0 0
Anomaly

Determine the Equation of the Epicycle

Using the True Epicyclic Anomaly as the argument, get four
quantities from the table
35
Degrees Minutes
1) Equation at Mean
Distance (central column)
Anomaly
Subtract Equation of Center

Result: True Epicyclic

0 0
Anomaly

Determine the Equation of the Epicycle

Using the True Epicyclic Anomaly as the argument, get four
quantities from the table
Degrees Minutes
1) Equation at Mean
Distance (central column)
2) Diminution at Apogee
(this is in MINUTES)
3) Augmentation at Perigee
(this is in MINUTES)

Using the Mean Eccentric

Anomaly as the argument, get
the Interpolation Coefficient

Calculate Equation of the Epicycle

If Mean Eccentric Anomaly is less than 99° and greater than 261°,
then:

Degrees Minutes
From Equation at Mean
Distance
subtract Diminution at
Apogee * Interpolation
Coefficient please&reduce&this&entry&to&degrees&and&minutes&yourself
Result: Equation of the
0 0
Epicycle (take absolute

If Mean Eccentric Anomaly is between 99° and 261°, then:

Degrees Minutes

Add: Equation at Mean

Distance
to Augmentation at Perigee *
Interpolation Coefficient

Result: Equation of the

Epicycle (take absolute 0 0
value)
Equation of the Epicycle is positive if True Epicyclic Anomaly is
between 0° and 180°
Equation of the Epicycle is negative if True Epicyclic Anomaly is
between 180° and 360° (Add - sign to both Degrees and Minutes)

Result: Equation of the

Epicycle

Calculate Planetary Longitude

Degrees Minutes
Add: Mean Longitude
36
to: Equation of Center
 Lastly, I show them how to find the Ascendant using the Table of Ascensions for
the appropriate latitude.
Table of Ascensions for London (LAT = 51° 30') and Claremont (LAT = 34° 6')

Sign Degree London Claremont Right Sphere

Aries 10° 4° 12' 6° 30' 9° 11'
20° 8° 32' 13° 8' 18° 28'
30° 13° 8' 20° 1' 27° 55'
Taurus 10° 18° 11' 27° 17' 37° 36'
20° 23° 51' 35° 3' 47° 33'
30° 30° 21' 43° 26' 57° 49'
Gemini 10° 37° 56' 52° 32' 68° 22'
20° 46° 46' 62° 22' 79° 7'
30° 56° 59' 72° 56' 90° 0'
Cancer 10° 68° 32' 84° 8' 100° 53'
20° 81° 12' 95° 48' 111° 38'
30° 94° 43' 107° 48' 122° 11'
Leo 10° 108° 44' 119° 56' 132° 27'
20° 123° 0' 132° 6' 142° 24'
30° 137° 19' 144° 12' 152° 5'
Virgo 10° 151° 36' 156° 12' 161° 32'
20° 165° 49' 168° 7' 170° 49'
30° 180° 0' 180° 0' 180° 0'
Libra 10° 194° 11' 191° 53' 189° 11'
20° 208° 24' 203° 48' 198° 28'
30° 222° 41' 215° 48' 207° 55'
Scorpio 10° 237° 0' 227° 54' 217° 36'
20° 251° 16' 240° 4' 227° 33'
30° 265° 17' 252° 12' 237° 49'
Sagittarius 10° 278° 48' 264° 12' 248° 22'
20° 291° 28' 275° 52' 259° 7'
30° 303° 1' 287° 4' 270° 0'
Capricorn 10° 313° 14' 297° 38' 280° 53'
20° 322° 4' 307° 28' 291° 38'
30° 329° 39' 316° 34' 302° 11'
Aquarius 10° 336° 9' 324° 57' 312° 27'
20° 341° 49' 332° 43' 322° 24'
30° 346° 52' 339° 59' 332° 5'
Pisces 10° 351° 28' 346° 52' 341° 32'
20° 355° 48' 353° 30' 350° 49'
30° 360° 0' 360° 0' 360° 0'

The goal of the assignment is to fill out the following chart for their own nativity.
For the Moon and other planets, we must use a shortcut--I show them how to use an
historical ephemeris. Eventually, I will provide future students with my own tables and

37
algorithms for these planets. My goal is to produce a modernized zīj that contains typical
elements from the tradition, for students to study and practice with.

(Emperor Hadrian’s Chart: from G. Cooper, “Astrology: The Science of Signs in

the Heavens.” In The Oxford Handbook to Science and Medicine in the Classical World.
In press.)

So far the students are grasping all of this. Some have required individual
attention, but once they grasp the underlying principles, most of the rest comes easily.

Abū Ja’far al-Khāzin (late 10th C.) in his Zīj al-Ṣafāʾih devised plates that
combined zīj-like tables and equatorium-like plates to enable finding of the planets’ true
longitudes.22 The culmination of the equatorium tradition in Islam was al-Kāshī’s 15th C.
planetary longitude computer.23

22
Labarta, Emilia Calvo. "The Treatise on the Zij al-Safa'ih by Abu Ja'far al-Khazin. A Preliminary Study."
In Tehran 1998 Conference Proceedings: Sciences, techniques et instruments dans le monde Iranien (Xe -
XIXe siècle), Actes du colloque tenu à l’Université de Téhéran (7-9 juin 1998), edited by N. Pourjavady
and Z. Vesel, 67-78. Tehran: Presses universitaires d’Iran & Institut Français de recherche en Iran, 2004.
23
E. S. Kennedy. "A Fifteenth-Century Planetary Computer: al-Kashi's "Tabaq al-Manateq". I. Motion of
the Sun and Moon in Longitude." Isis 41, (1950): 180-183.

38
 In the future, I plan to teach them how to use equatoria, or analog computers for
computing planetary longitudes graphically, based on al-Kāshī’s intriguing 15th C.
device, and the 16th C. cardboard models of Peter Apian.

Conclusion

I have asked students to fill out a questionnaire about these assignments, to help
me improve them. I have selected passages from their comments that indicate how
effective these assignments were. [Used by permission].

"What a great way to learn about Islamic culture!"

"My dad is an engineer, and I can't wait to show him how to use this astrolabe."

“[This assignment] really shows us how hard scientific discovery was since we
take our ability to discover by using great technologies for granted a lot of the
time.”

“My favorite part about the workshop was simply gaining an understanding the
complex and intelligent systems that people during those time periods put in place
to gain an understanding of time and the heavens.”

39
“It was unbelievable to realize how smart and observant the men who built and
constructed astrolabes actually were.”

“The attention to detail and the focus that these people put on the heavens to assist
in navigation, time, and astronomy was very impressive to me personally.”

“I also liked that we physically constructed the astrolabes together, not just having
them given to us.”

“My favorite aspect was the astrolabe being a great hands-on way to learn. After
doing so many lectures, it can be easy to not retain all the information after a
while.

The astrolabe activity let me learn a lot about how science could be used for
religious practices. Practically everything that the astrolabe could tell had some
kind of tie to Islamic culture and tradition as a whole.”

“I liked how [the planetary tables assignment] tied into the astrolabe but also
expanded on what the astrolabe taught. It showed that these simple numbers from
the astrolabe coupled with certain charts could lead to unbelievable predictions
that I thought were only possible in the modern day.”

“The planetary tables ... [were] big things that I thought NASA scientists were
doing [that] could be done relatively easily with the correct methods.”

“I liked how we were applying what the Middle Easterners used to tell time in
class so we could get a true understanding about the astrolabe.”

“Using their technology helped me put myself in their shoes better.”

“If we were only taught the function of the instrument through lecture, my
understanding of its importance would not have been fully attained without
actually using it.”

“It made me more aware of how complicated the science world was back then. ...
I am now more aware of how important these past scientific tools are and grasped
a greater appreciation for them.”

“I liked how we were able to integrate the concepts we learned in a lecture setting
to an actual hand-held tool.”

“The workshop served as an effective way to apply what we learned in class in a

practical way.”

“It was neat to be able to act like an ancient astronomer and use the astrolabe to
perform calculations. Since most history classes are composed of discussions and

40
 writing, it was a nice change of pace and fun to do a hands-on activity to learn
about ancient history.”

“Being able to physically conduct calculations myself gave me a more holistic

understanding of astronomy and ancient technological tools. Just like lab in the
science class helps practice scientific concepts, these workshops help more fully
understand astronomy.”

“Such a practical exercise has never been done in any of my classes before, and so
this was refreshing and meaningful.”

Here’s a creative suggestion for improving the assignment:

“I think it could have been very interesting to be placed in a “situation” in which

we had to use the astrolabe to solve a problem people had faced. If there was an
element of creativity added to the assignment in which we had to problem solve it
could really improve the assignment. This problem should be related to the issues
that people had to solve with the astrolabe when it was a primary instrument
used.”

My own assessment is that these activities fit well within a discussion of astronomical
theory in the Islamic tradition and the place of astronomy in Muslim civilization. I will
use them again, but improved and expanded.

41