Jabir b. Aflah's on the four-eclipse method for finding the lunar anomaly period

The four-eclipse method was used by pre-Ptolemaic astronomers, especially Hipparchus, for finding the lunar period in anomaly. It is described by Ptolemy in Almagest IV.2 where he adds new considerations to be fulfilled in order to obtain a correct period in anomaly. Jabir b. Aflab, who lived in ear...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Bellver Martínez, José
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2006
País:España
Institución:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repositorio:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:recercat.cat:2445/98024
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/98024
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Astronomia àrab
Astronomia antiga
Eclipsis lunars
Arab astronomy
Ancient astronomy
Lunar eclipses
Geber, 1100-1160
Descripción
Sumario:The four-eclipse method was used by pre-Ptolemaic astronomers, especially Hipparchus, for finding the lunar period in anomaly. It is described by Ptolemy in Almagest IV.2 where he adds new considerations to be fulfilled in order to obtain a correct period in anomaly. Jabir b. Aflab, who lived in early twelfth-century al-Andalus, considers this method in his Islāh al-Majistī. In his opinion, Ptolemy did not understand the conditions stated by the ancients. Jābir b. Aflah provides a complete set of conditions that makes Ptolemy's additions to the method unnecessary. In any case, the method presented by Jābir b. Aflah is more coherent and elegant from a mathematical point of view that Ptolemy's.