Niccolò Copernico’s heliocentric revolution presents analogies with the cosmological model formulated by the Arab astronomer Ibn al-Shatir two centuries earlier.
From a new research conducted at the University of Sharjah, a surprising similarity emerged between the cosmological model of Niccolò Copernicus, a key figure of the European scientific Renaissance, and the one designed by the Arab astronomer Ibn al-Shatir, lived almost two centuries earlier. The comparative and analytical study supports the writings of Copernicus to the works of the Arab thinker of the fourteenth century, analyzing convergences and divergences in their hypotheses, despite the fact that the two theories have been formulated over two hundred years later.
Analogies. Copernicus, Polish astronomer of the 16th century, is traditionally considered one of the first European scientists to have proposed the heliocentric modelwith the sun at the center of the Solar System, in contrast with the geocentric vision then dominant, based on the teachings of Aristotle and Tolomeo. Salama al-Mansouri, author of the research, explains: “Ibn al-Shatir was the first astronomer to successfully contest the tolematic system of the planets orbiting around the earth and correct the inaccuracies of the theory, about two centuries before Copernicus”.
Although it is not a novelty that Copernicus has been inspired by previous works, the study highlights the significant analogies between his thoughts and that of Ibn al-Shotir, engineer, mathematical and astronomer who was also the head of the time of the Omayyadi mosque in Damascus. Research suggests a strong influence of the thought of Ibn al-Shatir on Copernicus, in particular with regard to theIdea that the earth and the other planets orbito around the sun. «The astronomical manuscripts of Ibn al-Shatir, in particular his work Nihāyat al-Sulshow planetary models preceding e reflect those Subsequently proposed by Copernicus, indicating a common mathematical derivation»Explains Mesut Idriz, professor of History and Islamic civilization at the University of Sharjah and the study supervisor.
“Convincing correlations”. Nihayat al-Sul fi tashih al-USULthat is to say “The final research concerning the correction of the principles“, It is considered the most influential astronomical treatise of Ibn al-Shotir, in which, according to the study, the Arab scientist corrects e It perfects many of the Ptolemaic models related to the sunto the moon and the planets. Idriz recognizes the complexity of analyzing “historical astronomical manuscripts”, which require a combination of skills in astronomy, paleography and historiography, in addition to the mastery of Arabic and Persian, languages in which Arab scientists wrote.
To face this multidisciplinary challenge, Salama made use of the advice of the Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences and Technology (Saasst). The comparative textual analysis conducted by Salama focuses on the main work of Copernicus, De Revolutionibus orbium coelestium (“On the revolutions of the celestial spheres”), and on the manuscripts of Ibn al-Shotir, in particular the Nihayat al-Sul.
The study reveals “convincing correlations” between the two works, underlining The crucial role of the translation and transmission of manuscripts in the evolution of heliocentric theory and the importance of rediscovering Arab contributions To correct the historical inaccuracies on the history of science.
Ibn al-Shatir in the Vatican. Mashhoor al-Wardat, professor of Astrophysics at Saasst, highlights how “the surprising similarity between the planetary models developed by Ibn Al-Shatir and Copernico, in particular those concerning The orbits of mercury and the moonprovides a clear proof of Copernicus’s custody of Ibn al-Shotir’s work. This raises profound questions about the transmission of knowledge from Islamic civilization to Europe and on Modern astronomy roots».
Salama examined European archives in Krakow and the Vatican, where Copernicus made its most significant contribution, discovering that the Ibn al-Shotir treaty was present, but in Arabic. «Although it was present in its original Arab version, The manuscript could not have escaped the attention of a scholar like Copernicus», I hypothesize the researcher. According to research, text parallels are particularly evident in the “identical calculations and results”, suggesting that Copernicus may have adapted the techniques of Ibn al-Shotir in the development of its “philosophical passage to Eliocentrism”, a model that the study recognizes as an invention of Copernicus itself.
Parallelisms. The study highlights how Copernico’s hypothesis draws direct inspiration from Ibn al-Shotir in some specific aspects. Is mentioned The lunar modelin which the Arab astronomer used the epicycles (Tolomeo’s epicycles were small rims on which the planets moved, while these same epicycles revolved along a bigger circle around the earth. They served to explain the retrograde motion of the planets in the geocentric model) to correct the exaggerated variations of the Lunar distance of Tolomeo. «This is almost identical to the Lunar model of Copernico in De Revolutionsbus», The study observes. “Both have reduced the fluctuation of the lunar distance from the two of Tolomeo factor to a more accurate interval, based on similar geometric constructions”.
For Mercury and internal planets, the use by Copernicus of the secondary epicycles and the mechanism similar to the Tusi pair (The Tusi pair is a mathematical model in which a smaller circle rotates inside a larger one, with double diameter. This movement transforms circular motion into a linear oscillation) Remember the IBN al-Shotir approach. The Mercury model of Ibn Al-Shatir, with its multiplication of the epicycles to eliminate the eccentric (i.e. points outside the center of the orbits used by Ptolemy to explain the speed variations of the planets), reappears in the Copernicus work.
Undeniable debt. Ibn al-Shatir’s sun model also presents Parallels with the solar calculations of Copernicussuggesting a possible adaptation of the tables or numerical methods of Ibn al-Shotir to the heliocentric system. To the question if he believes that Copernicus has borrowed at least parts of his theory from Ibn al-Shatir, Salama replies: «Our analysis reveals that The Treaty of Ibn Al-Shatir, although geocentric in its intentions, has produced results thus in line with heliocentrism That Copernicus debt to him is undeniable: two centuries of separation have failed to erase this intellectual affinity ».
