Capturing Cosmic Wonders: Middle Eastern Photographers Envision the Milky Way

The representation of images from the Middle East in the 2024 Milky Way Photographer of the Year underlines the region’s lasting bond with the stars. Our area boasts a rich tradition of astronomy that stretches back thousands of years, with ancient civilizations like the Babylonians and Egyptians making considerable advancements in the discipline. For instance, Babylonian astronomers were among the pioneers in documenting celestial occurrences and constructing intricate mathematical systems to forecast astronomical events; Omani mariners navigated vast distances using the stars as their compass, and illustrious astronomers such as ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi and Abu Mashar al-Balkhi charted the stars and broadened our understanding of the galaxy.

In ancient Egypt, the orientation of the pyramids with celestial entities and the exact positioning of temples to signify solstices and equinoxes demonstrates a profound, ancient intrigue and comprehension of the universe. During the Islamic Golden Age, Arabs and Muslims from throughout the MENA region further propelled the field by translating Greek manuscripts, preserving ancient wisdom, and making essential contributions such as the inception of algebra, which was vital for complex astronomical calculations. Pioneering scholars like al-Battani, Ibn Zarqala, and Ibn al-Haytham achieved significant milestones in time measurement, planetary movement studies, and the early development of observational tools.