Al-Sufi's Book of Fixed Stars and the Andromeda Galaxy
Libro de las estrellas fijas de al-Sufi y la galaxia de Andrómeda
- Date
- 964 · confidence high
- Place
- Isfahan, Iran
- Credited to
- Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi (Azophi)
- People
- 👤 Abd Al-Rahman Al Sufi903–986
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
What was discovered
He revised, with his own observations, the magnitudes of Ptolemy's catalogue, illustrated each constellation and left the first written mention of the Andromeda Galaxy ('the little cloud') and of the Large Magellanic Cloud.
He worked at the Buyid court of Adud al-Dawla (Isfahan and Shiraz). He cites the Magellanic Cloud from reports by travellers to southern Arabia.
What it led to
- Arabic star names used today (Aldebaran, Altair)
- illustrated celestial cartography
- earliest references to external galaxies