Muslim ContributionsThat Changed the World穆斯林的貢獻他們如何改變世界
(Astrolabe)Astrolabes, originally thought to be invented in the Hellenistic world in 150 BC, were further developed by Muslim astronomers, by introducing angular scales and adding circles indicating azimuths on the horizon. It was widely used throughout the Muslim world, chiefly as an aid to navigation and as a way of finding the Qiblah (Muslim direction of prayer facing Makkah). The first person credited with building the astrolabe in the Muslim world is reportedly the 8th century mathematician Muhammad Al-Fazari. Astrolabes were used to find the times of sunrise and the rising of fixed stars, to help schedule morning prayers. In the 10th century, Abd Al-Rahman Al-Sufi first described over 1000 different uses for an astrolabe, in areas as diverse as astronomy, astrology, horoscopes,navigation, surveying, timekeeping, Muslim prayer, Qibla, etc. Astrolabes were introduced to Europe in the early 1100s and had become the most popular astronomical instrument by 1650.(星盤)星盤，原本被認為是由西元前150年的希臘世界所發明，被穆斯林天文學家更進一步發展，藉由採用尺度和加上顯示在水平面上的方位角的圓圈。它在整個穆斯林世界被廣泛地使用，主要作為航海的輔助，以及作為找到Qiblah(祈禱者面向麥加的穆斯林方向)。第一位在穆斯林世界建立星盤的人據第八世紀的記載被認為是數學家Muhammad Al-Fazari。星盤被使用於找到朝陽以及眾恆星升起的時間，為了幫助晨禱者們制定行程。在第十世紀，Abd Al-Rahman Al-Sufi第一個描述了超過一千種星盤的不同運用，在不同領域像天文學、占星術、天宮圖、航海、測量學、報時、穆斯林的禱告者、Qibla等。星盤早在1100年間被引介至歐洲，並在1650年成為最受歡迎的天文學儀器。
