Book of Fixed Stars

work by al-Ṣūfī

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June 22, 2026

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The Book of Fixed Stars was written by the 10th-century Islamic astronomer al-Sufi. This work is significant as it contains the oldest illuminated Islamic astronomical manuscript, dating from 1009–10 CE, and it depicts individual constellations along with their stars. Al-Sufi's book also includes revisions to star magnitudes that were made during the Middle Ages. This work built upon earlier astronomical catalogs, such as Ptolemy's Almagest, which contained coordinates and magnitudes for 1,022 stars grouped into 48 constellations.12

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Andromeda Galaxy
…as 965 ce, in the Book of the Fixed Stars by the Islamic astronomer al-Ṣūfī, and rediscovered in 1612, shortly after the invention of the telescope, by the German astronomer Simon Marius, who said it resembled the light of a candle seen through a horn. For centuries astronomers regarded the…
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…as 965 ce, in the Book of the Fixed Stars by the Islamic astronomer al-Ṣūfī, and rediscovered in 1612, shortly after the invention of the telescope, by the German astronomer Simon Marius, who said it resembled the light of a candle seen through a horn. For centuries astronomers regarded the…
Read More