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Recent research has shown that this observatory had
been one of the largest of the observatories built
in the 16th century and was comparable to
Tycho Brahe's Uroniborg (16th century) as
well as Ulug Bey's Samarqand (15th
century) and Nâsir al-din Tûsî's Maragha (13th
century). In this
short article I am going to dwell on only the first
part, that is to say the instruments built in this
institution.
The reputation of the
observatory depends on first and foremost the
preciseness of its instruments, secondly on
the importance of the work done within; and then on
the quality of the astronomers connected to it.
The available sources that
give information about the instruments constructed
in this observatory are:
· Alât-i Rasadîya li
Zîj-i Shahinshâhîya (Astronomical instruments
for the Zij of Emperor).[6]
· Sidra Muntahâ al
afkâr of Taqî al-din[7]
· Âlâ al-din al Mansûr's
Poem.[8]
Generally, observational
instruments in an observatory can be divided into
two groups: fixed and portable. In enumerating the
instruments, Taqî al-din does not say anything
concerning the portable instruments.
Tycho Brahe built an
observatory under the sponsorship of King Frederic
II of Denmark in 1576. He equipped this observatory
with the best possible instruments of his time and
succeeded in becoming one of the great astronomers
of all history by building these refined
instruments, making accurate observations and
helping the discoveries of Kepler.
Recent research has shown
that there is an exact identity between most of the
instruments of Tycho Brahe's and Taqî al-din's
observatories.
Tycho Brahe and Taqî al-din
were not satisfied with the instruments of the
previous astronomers. They had new discoveries to
use. These were the sextant, the wooden quadrant and
astronomical clock.
The Mushabbaha bi'l manâtiq
is composed of three rulers. Two of them are
attached as the rulers of triquetrum. An arc is
attached at the end of one of the rulers. This
instrument is used to determine the distances
between the stars.[9]
Taqî al-din's mushabbaha bi'l manâtiq and Tycho
Brahe's sextant should be considered among the great
achievements of the 16th century.
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