The contributions to astronomy that were made by Chinese and Islamic astronomers during the Dark Ages in Europe.
Explanation of Solution
The Chinese astrology attached the importance to the comets and “guest stars” and maintained extensive records of such events. One such best known guest star was appeared in 1054 A.D. It was visible in the daytime sky for many months and later on came out to be the supernova, that is, the star which when exploded ejected most of its mass into space. These records were used by the twentieth century astronomers to get the observational data of Dark Age since the Western science was not able to progress in that time due to turmoil in the Europe happened at that time.
Also, from the Dark ages to the beginning of the Renaissance, Islamic astronomy preserved the knowledge of the Greeks and thereby provided the important link between the Ancient Greece astronomy and that of the medieval Europe. They developed many of the mathematical techniques that are used in trigonometry, and also developed some astronomical terms such as zenith and azimuth. Names of many stars such as Rigel, Betelgeuse, and Vega are also provided by them.
Thus, Chinese and Islamic astronomers provided the vital contribution in the astronomy during the Dark Ages in Europe.
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Chapter 2 Solutions
Modified Mastering Astronomy with Pearson eText -- Standalone Access Card -- for Astronomy Today (9th Edition)