Astronomer · 1394 CE – 1449 CE

Ulugh Beg

History of AstronomyIslamic Golden Age Astronomy

Biography

Ulugh Beg was a Timurid ruler and astronomer who built a monumental observatory at Samarkand with an enormous meridian arc. His Zij-i-Sultani catalogued the positions of more than a thousand stars with an accuracy unsurpassed until the telescope, making it the finest star catalogue between Ptolemy and Tycho Brahe.

Scientific contributions

Built the great observatory at Samarkand
Compiled the Zij-i-Sultani star catalogue (1437)
Measured stellar positions to unprecedented naked-eye accuracy

Catalogues

Zij-i-Sultani1437 CE

Knowledge connections

Part ofIslamic Golden Age Astronomy
IntroducedZij-i-Sultani

Sources & references

Facts on this topic will be cited from these primary and reference sources.

BritannicaEncyclopaedia Britannica
General reference for the history of astronomy, biographies, and cultural context.
IAUInternational Astronomical Union
Official naming, definitions, constellation boundaries, and astronomical nomenclature.

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