00:00Every time you look at a star chart tonight,
00:02every time a scientist uses a telescope,
00:05reads a star name, or calculates an orbit,
00:09they are using tools, names, and methods
00:12built by Muslim scholars over a thousand years ago.
00:17The golden age of Islamic astronomy
00:19is not a footnote in history.
00:22It is the foundation on which modern space science stands.
00:26And almost nobody in the West is taught this.
00:30Between the 8th and 14th centuries CE,
00:33the Islamic world flourished.
00:35This golden age was driven by a command from the Quran itself.
00:39The very first word revealed was,
00:42Ikra dasarid.
00:45The Quran commands reflection on the natural world.
00:48Astronomy was an act of worship,
00:50essential for prayer times, the qibla, and the calendar.
00:56This drove unprecedented scientific observation.
01:00The Abbasid caliphs established the Beit al-Hikmah,
01:03the house of wisdom, in Baghdad.
01:06It became the world's greatest center of learning,
01:09with astronomy at its heart.
01:12Look at any modern star chart,
01:14and you'll see this legacy in the names.
01:16Aldebaran comes from the Arabic al-Dabbaran,
01:20meaning the follower,
01:22for how it trails the p...
01:30Pleiades.
01:32Betelgeuse.
01:33The red supergiant in Orion,
01:35comes from the Arabic yad al-jausa,
01:38meaning the hand of Orion.
01:40The name was corrupted through Latin transliteration.
01:44Rigel,
01:44the bright blue star also in Orion,
01:47comes from Rigel Jauza al-Yusra,
01:50meaning,
01:50the left leg of Orion.
01:53Deneb,
01:53tail of the hen.
01:55Vega,
01:56the falling eagle.
01:58Altair,
01:59the flying eagle.
02:00Formalhaut,
02:01the mouth of the fish.
02:03Over 200 stars in modern catalogues have Arabic names.
02:07Every time NASA refers to Betelgeuse,
02:10it uses the language of 9th and 10th century Muslim scholars.
02:14Behind these names were real people.
02:18Al-Batani,
02:19who lived in 9th and 10th century Syria,
02:22calculated the solar year with incredible precision.
02:26His figure was just 2 minutes and 24 seconds off
02:30from today's measurement.
02:32A feat unimproved for centuries.
02:35The next time you gaze at the stars,
02:38remember,
02:39you are not just looking into the cosmos.
02:43You are looking through the lens of a rich,
02:46intellectual heritage.
02:48What other hidden histories do you think are out there?
02:51Every time you look at a star chart tonight.
02:54Every time a scientist uses a telescope.
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