J/other/JHA/47.2ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/other/JHA/47.294CDSMozaffari S.M.2017-11-10T08:34:29Z2017-11-10T09:29:31ZCDS support team

CDS, Observatoire de Strasbourg, 11 rue de l'Universite, F-67000 Strasbourg, France

cds-question@unistra.frcatalogsastrometryThe Ilkhani zij compiled by Nasir al-Din al-Tusi and his colleagues in the first period of the astronomical activities (the 1260s and early 1270s) in the Maragha observatory includes a star table collecting important observations of Islamic astronomers from the early ninth century through the third quarter of the thirteenth century, including the Mumtahan astronomers, Ibn al-A'lam, Ibn Yunus, as well as the Maragha astronomers themselves. This table gives the ecliptical coordinates of 18 bright stars in comparison with Ptolemy's corresponding values. This medieval bright star table is especially interesting for two reasons: first, it provides reliable evidence for the examination of the accuracy of the observations made and the instruments employed (notably, an armillary sphere) in the Maragha observatory. Second, it facilitates a comparative study of the accuracy of stellar observations in medieval Middle Eastern astronomy in the period in question. We have obtained the result that the Maragha astronomers observed more accurate star longitudes than did their predecessors, while for the latitudes, all Islamic observers appear to have gained about the same degree of accuracy. We also discuss two delicate matters raised by this table: first, the problem of the use of the two different values for the rate of precession by the Maragha astronomers in order to convert earlier star longitudes to the epoch of the Ilkhani zij (1{deg}/66 years for Ptolemy's longitudes and 1{deg}/70 years for those measured by their Islamic predecessors); second, the change in the star latitudes essentially related to the various values measured by Ptolemy and the Islamic astronomers represented side-by-side in it. Finally, we briefly discuss a small celestial globe designed by the son of Mu'ayyad al-Din al-'Urdi, the instrument-maker of the Maragha observatory.2016JHA....47..294Mhttps://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/other/JHA/47.294CatalogResearchIsServedByTAP VizieR generic serviceIsServedByConesearch servicerelated-toV/61 : Almagest (Ptolemy's Star Catalog)J/A+A/516/A28 : Star catalogue of Tycho Brahe (1627) (Verbunt+, 2010)J/A+A/516/A29 : Star catalogue of Hevelius (1690) (Verbunt+, 2010)J/A+A/530/A93 : de Houtman, Kepler and Halley star catalogs (Verbunt+ 2011)J/A+A/544/A31 : Star catalogues of Ptolemaios, Ulugh Beg (Verbunt+, 2012)https://cds.unistra.fr/vizier-org/licences_vizier.htmlhttps://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-2?-source=J/other/JHA/47.294https://vizier.iucaa.in/viz-bin/VizieR-2?-source=J/other/JHA/47.294http://vizieridia.saao.ac.za/viz-bin/VizieR-2?-source=J/other/JHA/47.294https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/votable?-source=J/other/JHA/47.294https://vizier.iucaa.in/viz-bin/votable?-source=J/other/JHA/47.294http://vizieridia.saao.ac.za/viz-bin/votable?-source=J/other/JHA/47.294GETtext/xml+votablehttps://tapvizier.cds.unistra.fr/TAPVizieR/tapCone search capability for table J/other/JHA/47.294/margha01 (The Ilkhani bright star table)https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/conesearch/J/other/JHA/47.294/margha01?https://vizier.iucaa.in/viz-bin/conesearch/J/other/JHA/47.294/margha01?http://vizieridia.saao.ac.za/viz-bin/conesearch/J/other/JHA/47.294/margha01?GETtext/xml+votable180.050000true2.294521759.14978110.0055555555555555566/1504 3005 8767 13392 14711 14906 20940 22787 23540 23611 25659 27574 30543 31929 42956https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/moc/J/other/JHA/47.294?format=asciidefaultJ/other/JHA/47.294/margha01The Ilkhani bright star tablerecnoRecord number assigned by the VizieR team. Should Not be used for identification.meta.recordintIZ[1/16] Sequence number in the non-Ptolemaic star table in the Ilkhani zijmeta.idintNameBayer designation and abbreviation of constellation namemeta.id;meta.maincharElono[0/360] Degrees of the ecliptic longitude as given in the non-Ptolemaic star table in the Ilkhani zij (1)pos.ecliptic.lonElato[0/90] Degrees of the ecliptic latitude as given in the non-Ptolemaic star table in the Ilkhani zij (1)pos.ecliptic.latElon[0/360] Degrees of the ecliptic longitude as computed from the bright star catalogue for 18 January 1232 ADpos.ecliptic.lonElat[0/90] Degrees of the ecliptic latitude as computed from the bright star catalogue for 18 January 1232 ADpos.ecliptic.latSimbadSimbad column added by the CDSmeta.ref.urlchar_RARight Ascension (J2000) from SIMBAD (not part of the original data)degpos.eq.ra;meta.main_DEDeclination (J2000) from SIMBAD (not part of the original data)degpos.eq.dec;meta.main