Astronomy

Astronomy has been called the "queen of sciences". It incorporates many disciplines such as physics, particularly optics, mathematics and celestial mechanics. Since ancient times, Muslim scientists have studied astronomy, contributing greatly to human knowledge. Yaqub ibn Tariq, al-Kwarizmi, al-Battani, al-Farghani, al-Sufi, al-Biruni, al-Tusi and Omar Khayyam are just a few of the scholars who have left a lasting mark in the annals of astronomy.

On this page there is a collection of useful links, usenet groups, software and other resources related to astronomy, many with an Islamic flavour.

| Useful Links | Usenet Groups | Software | Other Resources |

Useful links

MoonCalc 5.2 - new version of the premier moonsighting program
Hajj and Eid ul Adha - predicted date of Eid ul Adha and huge amount of Hajj related information

Graphical Islamic Calendar & International Lunar Date Lines - based on predicted moon sighting.
Regional (tri-zonal) Islamic Calendar - based on predicted moon sighting.
MoonCalc homepage - information and example output from the latest version of MoonCalc - the premier moonsighting and lunar calendar program.
QiblaCalc homepage - information and example output from QiblaCalc for Windows - a sophisticated qibla and magnetic declination calculator.
Hijri - Gregorian date conversion.
Another Hijri - Gregorian date conversion site.
Islamic Calendar page at Warwick University, UK
SAAO (South African Astronomical Observatory) -site on lunar cresent visibility information, maintained by John Caldwell & David Laney.
Visibility of Crescents - by M. Odeh / Jordanian Astronomical Society
Islamic Crescents Observation Project (ICOP) - aims to gather data about observing crescents.
Khalid Shaukat's page on Islam & Astronomy
Mohib Durrani's page on Islam & Astronomy
Skylights - a weekly sky news website.
Calendar Zone - lots of useful calendar related links.
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the Christian, Hebrew, Islamic, and various historical calendars.
Determination of Islamic Salat Times - theory and mathematics behind calculating salat times.
Determination of Qibla Direction - (COMING SOON) - theory and mathematics behind calculating qibla direction.
Hadiths relating to moonsighting and ramadhan
Start of Ramadhan & Eid ul Fitr 1420 AH / 1999-2000: Predicted dates of Ramadhan and Eid using latest software techniques.
Ramadhan related resources on the Net
Start of Eid ul- Adha 1420 AH / 2000: Predicted date of Eid ul-Adha using latest software techniques.
Hajj & Eid ul-Adha - huge amount of Hajj related information including predicted Eid dates.
Sky Watcher's Diary - Abrams Planetarium, Department of Physics and Astronomy at Michigan State University. ... or an alternative source..
Sky Calendar - Abrams Planetarium.
AstroNet Digest - on-line astronomy magazine.
SkyLinks: Astronomy and Space-Related Web Sites - a list of links, compiled & updated regularly by the editors of Sky & Telescope; geared towards amateur astronomers and space buffs.
SKY Online - Sky & Telescope Magazine
Astronomy Magazine
Astronomy Now On-Line - Great Britain
The Astronomer Magazine - Great Britain
Astronomy Ireland - Ireland's Magazine of Astronomy.
ASTRONET - offers information on astronomical phenomena and closely follows the news on astronomy, space research, space flight, meteorology and earth sciences. Maintained by Dutch science journalist Carl Koppeschaar.
Astronomy Resources on the Net. Journals, Software, Catalogs and Databases. Research Institutes and Organisations. Specific topics. Sites with more links..
AstroWeb: Astronomy/Astrophysics on the Internet - acollection of pointers to astronomy-related information available on the Internet. The database is maintained by the AstroWeb Consortium.
Royal Greenwich Observatory (RGO) Homepage
RGO Nautical Almanac Office
RGO FTP page
U.S. Naval Observatory - homepage
U.S. Naval Observatory Library
Sunrise/Sunset/Twilight and Moonrise/Moonset/Phase - U.S. Naval Observatory
On line Lunar Ephimeris (NASA)
JPL's solar system dynamics WWW site - provides information related to all known bodies in orbit around the sun. Maintained by the Solar System Dynamics Group of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Eclipse Home Page - superb page about lunar and solar eclipses by Fred Espenak / NASA
Eclipse zone calendar- another eclipse website by Worachate Boonplod.
American Lunar Society Homepage
The Moon by Rosanna L. Hamilton - lots of Moon related facts.
Geology of the Moon - Links to Information about the Moon
NASA Moon homepage
Phase of the Moon - Portugal
Moon Research Centre (U.K) Homepage
Anthony Jones Moon Page - Phases, % Full, Distance and Age of Current Lunation.
Brian Casey's Moon Page and his Astronomical Sky Calendar Generates a calendar for the given range of months which contains, for each day, the Julian Date, Sun rise & set times, Moon rise & set times and percent illumination, etc.
Farmer's Almanac Heavenly Details - dates and locations of solar and lunar eclipses for the year, as well as the days of the full moon for the next five years.
Gateway 2000 Moon Phase page - a year's worth of moon phases.
Lunar Outreach - more phases of the moon.
One World Global Calendar - Lunar cycle of new and full moons, meteor showers and eclipses.
Personal Pages of Astronomers - a large number of personal Astronomy pages.
Planetary Photojournal NASA's Image Access Home Page.
Muslim astronomers and scientists of old.
The Astrolabe :The First Astronomical Computer

Usenet Groups

There are several Usenet groups devoted to Astronomy. sci.astro.amateur is particularly useful for general / hobby related discussions.

sci.astro.amateur
sci.astro.planetarium
sci.astro.research
sci.astro

Software

There is a vast array of astronomy related software available for download on the Net. Some programs are shareware, others are public domain, charityware or demos. Here is a brief list of software / archives for you to look at...

Download MoonCalc 5.2 - a computer program to assist in crescent sighting. More info + sample outputs...
Download QiblaCalc 1.0 - a computer program to calculate qibla direction and magnetic declination. More info + sample outputs...
Download Prayer Time Calculator v 2.5 , a computer program to calculate salat times for any location. More info + sample outputs...
Other Islamic Software
MICA 1.5
AstroNet Digest Software List
The SEDS ftp archive, University of Arizona.
SimTel archive of DOS astronomy programs
SimTel archive of Windows astronomy programs
ASTROBYTES software archive.
Tools of astronomical interest
Greg Robert's download page
Software at GeoCities

Other Resources

CyberSalat - a multimedia salat tutor (Windows).
Salat times during Ramadhan for London, Birmingham, Bradford, Manchester or Edinburgh
Muslim Salat Times - you enter location & obtain salat time table for that location... alternative site
SkyLinks - Sky and Telescope's Astronomical Web Sites
Astronomy Picture of the Day -discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation by a professional astronomer.