The Golden Age of Science in Muslim civilisation witnessed important developments and improvements to astronomy, including use of innovative devices like celestial globes, armillary spheres, astrolabes, and sextants.
Artistic impression concerning use of astronomical instruments in Muslim civilisationOriginal Source: 1001 Inventions
Muslims needed to know the times of the daily prayers that depend on the Sun's position, the direction of Makkah from every geographical location, and the Moon's cycle for the Muslim lunar calendar.
Motivated by these aims, Muslims also made important discoveries and developed instruments that contributed to astronomy, including celestial globes, armillary spheres, astrolabes, and sextants.
Clip from the film '1001 Inventions and the Library of Secrets'Original Source: 1001 Inventions
Before modern tech devices like GPS, astrolabes helped people navigate on land, using stars as reference points.
This clip introduces 10th century astrolabe maker Maryam Al-Ijliya.
Artistic impression of Maryam al-Ijliya (10th century Aleppo)Original Source: 1001 Inventions
Maryam Al-Ijliya has a very unusual story to tell.
Unlike most other women of the 10th century, she took up a trade and is remembered today for her skilful instrument-making.
Her father had been an apprentice in Baghdad to a famous maker of astrolabes - intricate devices for land navigation and time-telling. She became his pupil.
Wax model of Maryam al-Ijliya al-Astrulabiya at the 1001 Inventions exhibition at the Jordan Museum, AmmanOriginal Source: 1001 Inventions
Also known as Al-Astrulabiya, Al-Ijliya made astrolabes in Aleppo, northern Syria. She was employed by Sayf al-Dawla, the ruler in charge of the city from 944-967.
Al-Ijliya's story is a rare documented case of a woman working in science in early Muslim civilisation.
Filmed at the 1001 Inventions Exhibition, Michigan Science CenterOriginal Source: 1001 Inventions
Here, Professor Glen Cooper explains how an astrolabe works at a 1001 Inventions exhibition at Michigan Science Centre in Detroit.
Artwork of a realistic side of an astrolabeOriginal Source: 1001 Inventions
Long before mechanical clocks and watches were widespread, engineers and astronomers in the Muslim world built astrolabes that brought time and space together into a single gadget.
Astrolabes weren't new - the scholar Theon of Alexandria described them in the 4th century.
But with a need to make more accurate astronomical observations, more sophisticated astrolabes were developed in Muslim civilisation.
Depiction of an armillary sphere in an engraving from the Jihannuma or Universal Geography1001 Inventions
Demonstrational armillary spheres modelled the heavens and planetary motions, showing astronomers in Muslim civilisation how the universe worked in three dimensions.
And they came very close to the model we know today.
They were not solid globes, but were made up of concentric rings, with the Earth at the center and other bodies surrounding it.
Artistic interpretation in a 16th-century manuscript showing astronomers lining up various parts of the armillary sphere.1001 Inventions
The armillary sphere was used to determine the solar altitude to calculate the time...
...to determine the meridian line at any place, longitudes and latitudes of celestial bodies, differences in the length of day and night throughout the year and in the different climates.
It also helped people find the latitudes and longitudes of cities.
Armillary sphere replica at 1001 Inventions exhibition at the Jordan Museum, AmmanOriginal Source: 1001 Inventions
The construction and use of the armillary spheres started in the eighth century when they were first written about in Baghdad in the treatise of The Instrument with the Rings by Al-Fazari.
It was also known in Al-Andalus since the first half of the ninth century.
An illustration depicts Taqi al-Din's sextant in his observatory in Istanbul1001 Inventions
Sextants were used for measuring the altitude of heavenly bodies, thus allowing celestial globes to be mapped.
A famous observatory built in the 1420s by astronomer Ulugh Beg in Uzbekistan had a sextant set into a trench more than three stories deep to protect it from earthquakes.
The House of Wisdom ScholarsOriginal Source: 1001 Inventions
Scientists and craftsmen in Muslim civilisation were true pioneers - devising gadgets that unlocked knowledge about the universe, and helping build a foundations for modern science and technology.
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