Our heritage of Arabian astronomy Most accounts of the history of astronomy present a linear development from Greek polymaths to Muslim scholars and then enlightened Europeans. This is not one of them. The modern night sky is messy, awash with the remnants of cultural interactions that span millennia.
Most accounts of the history of astronomy present a linear development from Greek polymaths to Muslim scholars and then enlightened Europeans. This is not one of them. The modern night sky is messy, awash with the remnants of cultural interactions that span millennia. Greco-Mesopotamian constellation figures bear Latin names.
It was so named because it follows on the heels of the most renowned object in the Arabian night sky: the brilliant star cluster called ath-Thuraya, known today as the Pleiades. This star cluster was so highly celebrated that it was often simply called the Star ( an-najm ).
