Understanding
Mathematical astronomy and more specifically here Alfonsine astronomy is a science allowing to understand and predict most of the celestial phenomena accessible to naked eyes observation. It is an impressive body of knowledge that was patiently elaborated and organised over the course of centuries. In this series of trails you will be able to go through the different parts of the discipline as it was conceived in the late medieval period and you will be introduced to the fundamental concepts of mathematical astronomy as they were presented in the manuscripts.
Planetary astronomy
Planetary astronomy studies the motion of the planets in longitude and latitude, their period of visibility, the moment when they are stationary or even moving backward in the sky. In this trail you will be introduced to the basic tools and concepts of this part of astronomy as it was presented in the manuscripts.
Other disciplines
Astronomy was a science in contact with many other intellectual disciplines during the late middle ages. Notably it was in contact with astrology and medicine but also with mathematical disciplines like arithmetic, geometry or music. Some manuscripts also show connections of astronomy to magic!
Eclipse
Eclipse theory studies the condition under which solar or lunar eclipses can occur and provide means to predict them and the way they can be observed (or not) from a given location on the earth.In this trail you will be introduced to the basic tools and concepts of this part of astronomy as it was presented in the manuscripts.
Spherical astronomy
Spherical astronomy studies the daily rotation of the sky as it can be seen from a given place on the earth. In this trail you will be introduced to the basic tools and concepts of this part of astronomy as it was presented in the manuscripts.
