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HRH Prince Charles writes to support 1001 Inventions
Stunning and Iconic Images from the Muslim World
Record Numbers for Science Heritage Exhibition in California
Opening at National Geographic Museum in US Capital
Uncovering The Enduring Legacy of Muslim Civilization
Until March 2012 due to popular demand
Universe Zone
How astronomers and instrument-makers in Muslim civilisation expanded our knowledge of the universe

The wonder and glory of the starry skies impressed the scholars of Muslim civilisation – but they also looked for order and logic in what they saw. In this zone of the exhibition, you can explore the new instruments and ideas that developed to study the stars, which influenced considerably the development of astronomy.
Did you know
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...that the need to predict the phases of the Moon for Ramadan and other religious festivals led to great steps forward in astronomy?
...that astrolabes and other instruments developed by astronomers were also crucial in land navigation and telling the time?
...that the first large-scale observatory in the Muslim world was that built by Sultan Malikshah in Isfahan in the late 11th century? ...that the 16th-century astronomer Taqi al-Din installed huge versions of star-gazing tools like quadrants and sextants, to increase the accuracy of measurements made in his observatory? |
In this zone:
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