Has Copernicus relied on a medieval Arab astronomer? New study emphasizes striking parallels

New studies suggest that Nicolaus Copernicus' helio-centered model of the solar system may have been significantly influenced by the work of a Muslim astronomer from the 14th century, Ibn al-Shatir. The study draws detailed comparisons between the planetary models of both illustrations and suggests that Copernicus' ideas from previous Islamic scientific traditions – AD.

Copernicus, the renowned Polish astronomer from the 16th century, is widely attributed to the introduction of the so -called Copernican revolution by the sun, not the earth, in the center of the universe. His work emphasized the prevailing geocentric models that come from Aristotle and Ptolemaios, and helped lay the basis for modern astronomy.

According to a recent doctoral thesis by Dr. Salama al-Mansouri from the University of Sharjah has a remarkable resemblance to one that was developed by IBN al-Shatir almost 200 years earlier, a Damascen astronomer who acted as time holder of the Umayyad-Mosque.

“Ibn al-Shatir was the first astronomer to successfully question the Ptolemaic cosmological system of planets that were revolving around the earth and corrected the inaccuracies of the theory about two centuries from Copernicus,” says Dr. Al-Mansouri. Your studies now Available via Sharjah University Libraryoffers a critical text analysis of the two astronomers work, which concentrate in particular on Copernicus De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium ((About the revolutions of the heavenly balls) and Ibn al-Shattir's treatise Nihāyat al-sul fī taṣḥīḥ al-uṣūl ((The final search in relation to the correction of principles).

Research shows “convincing correlations”, especially in the mathematical models to represent the planetary movement. According to the study, “Ibn al-Shattirs shows astronomical manuscripts, especially his work in Nihāyat al-Sul, planetary models that reflect the later and precisely reflecting on a common mathematical descent”.

The most remarkable parallels include their respective models for the moon and mercury. The study finds that both IBN al-Shatir and Copernicus corrected the exaggerated variations of moon removal with similar epicyclic geometries. “This is almost identical to the moon model of Copernicus in De revolutionibus“The research states.” Both reduced the fluctuation of the moon distance of Ptolemaios from two to a more precise area, which is based on similar geometric constructions. “

Copernicus used for the inner planets and secondary epitics and a device that is similar to the TuSi-Couple-a mathematical tool, which is named after the Persian polymath Nasir al-Din al-Tusi from the 13th century. Ibn al-Shatir had used a similar mechanism to eliminate the equantry, a problematic element in Ptolemaic astronomy. The study argues that Copernicus, through comparable constructions, indicates that he may have adopted the techniques of IBN al-Shatir and adapted them within a heliocentric framework.

Even the Copernicus solar model reflects the IBN al-Shatir approach. “The solar model of IBN al-Shatir with a new eccentricity and epicycles creates a maximum solar equation of 2; 2.6 °, parallel Copernicus' solar calculations,” says the study. “This indicates that Copernicus may have adopted the numerical tables or methods of IBN al-Shatir and has adapted to its sun-centered system.”

Despite these similarities, the study recognizes that Ibn al-Shatir remained in a geocentric paradigm. Dr. However, Al-Mansouri argues that the precision of his refinements has easily made it compatible with Copernicus' heliocentric new interpretation. “Our analysis shows that the treatise by Ibn al-Shattir, although geocentrically, has achieved results that were geared to heliocentrism that the debts of Copernicus towards him are undeniable-for centuries of separation, this intellectual relationship could not extinguish this.”

But how could Copernicus meet these ideas? Dr. Al-Mansouri interviewed Arabic manuscripts and their Latin translations that were preserved in European archives-a one in Kraków and the Vatican, where Copernicus examined and developed his astronomical theories. She reports that Nihāyat al-sul Was under the materials that were archived there in its original Arabic. “Although the manuscript could not escape in its original Arab version of the attention of a scholar like Copernicus,” she writes.

It is not known at this point in time, which means that direct influence cannot be proven. However, the study suggests that the Polish astronomer has probably made these ideas accessible by “intermediary channels” – possibly by scientists who have been translated or transmitted indirectly.

The astrophysicist Mashhoor Al-Wardat underlines the effects of these results:

The striking similarity between the planetary models developed by IBN al-Shatir and Copernicus, in particular those that affect the orcaps and moon's organs, provides clear evidence of the trust of Copernicus in IBN al-Satir's work. This raises profound questions about the transfer of knowledge from Islamic civilization to Europe and the roots of modern astromy.

The interpretation of historical astronomical manuscripts is not an easy task. Professor Idriz states that studies like this require a “unique overlap of specialist knowledge – Ostronomy, manuscript studies and historiography”. Dr. Al-Mansouri was based on the support of the Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences and Technologythat has become a regional hub for Arabic and Islamic science research.

Prof. Hamid al-Naimiy, a renowned astronomer and chancellor of the University of Sharjah, was the main supervisory point of view of the study. “This study is a Clarion call to rewrite the history of astronomy,” he says, “ensuring that the brilliance of Muslim scholars like Ibn al-Shatir is in addition to Copernicus in our collective narrative about scientific progress.”

Al-Naimiy describes the IBN al-Shatir model as “breakdown of the Ptolemaic system and correct its errors for two centuries before Copernicus”. He adds: “This work emphasizes the essential contributions of our legacy to global astronomy.”

Dr. Al-Mansouri sees broader effects. The study emphasizes how articles from non-Western scientists often marginalize in stories about scientific progress. “Ibn al-Shattir's empirical refinements within a geocentric framework that corresponds to the adaptation of Copernicus illustrate how incremental improvements can precede the shifts of the paradigms,” she says. “This research offers a model for modern science, in which basic work in a context can catalyze breakthroughs in another.”

The results invite historians to rethink the linear, Eurocentric history of the scientific revolution. Through attention to the common mathematical techniques and the overlapping astronomical models, the study calls for more recognition of the role of Islamic golden age when determining the basis for the Renaissance astronomy – and demands updates for scientific curricula to be reflected in an integrative and more precise presentation of the intellectual history.

Click here to read the thesis, The latest about the heliocentric theory, as Ibn al-S-Shater and Copernicus explains: a comparative analytical study

Top picture: Ibn-Al-Shattir moon model, from which Copernicus borrowed when composing its cosmological model.