First stop today was the observatory built in 1402 by a great astronomer Ulugh Begh.
He was a ruler as well as a very learned man. He was the grandson of the conqueror Timur, who is (Tamerlane)
His observatory built on top of a hill on the outskirts of Samarkand had a a huge trench along the line of the Meridian, a few meters wide, that once housed a mighty sextant with a radius of 40 meters used to measure the elevation of the Sun, Moon and stars.
He recorded his observation in the Zij-i Sultani in 1437, then the most accurate catalog of 1,018 stars.
Ulugh Begh set up a school of astronomy at the observatory and he had many students and collaborators. I like this picture (below) in the museum because at the bottom left hand corner there is a card with information on how to download and app using a QR code to explore the museum. I am sure that this learned man would have approved!
This is a portrait of the great man himself created from a reconstruction based on his remains.
This is the museum that houses an exhibition related to the observatory.
He was a ruler as well as a very learned man. He was the grandson of the conqueror Timur, who is (Tamerlane)
His observatory built on top of a hill on the outskirts of Samarkand had a a huge trench along the line of the Meridian, a few meters wide, that once housed a mighty sextant with a radius of 40 meters used to measure the elevation of the Sun, Moon and stars.
He recorded his observation in the Zij-i Sultani in 1437, then the most accurate catalog of 1,018 stars.
This is all that is left of the trench for the sextant
Below is a model of the observatory. You can see the hole where the sun came in
Begh and his collaborators.
For more information on this remarkable man click here
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