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FIGURE1.
think that these equation tables represent an attempt to simplify the compu-
tation of planetary longitudes which has a certain similarity with other ef-
forts undertaken in the Muslim East since the 9th century14and which were
developed in Europe in the 14th century.15If we consider only the table of
the equation of the sun,16 both MillPs and Poulle remarked that it is not a
table of equations but a table whose argument is the solar mean longitude
6 )and whose entries give directly the true longitude ( I ) ,which is the result
x
of the algebraic addition of and the equation ( e ) . In this way the user of
the Tables of Barcelona can save himself the trouble of an addition of a sub-
traction and does not have to concern himself whether the equation has a
positive or negative value. The longitude of the solar apogee in this table is
79;25,55', a value which is quite surprisingly similar to the longitude com-
puted by Toomer from the solar tables of,al-Zarqal's Almanach: namely, a
sidereal longitude of 79;30.17
It is, of course, an easy task to reconstruct the original table of the solar
equation from the table published by Millb. The results appear in TABLE 1.
The maximum value of the equation is 1;52', a parameter which, once again,
seems to derive from al-Zarqd. Now the table of the solar equation in the
Toledan tables is a copy of the same table in al-Battani's Zfj.l* Also, we have
ample evidence of the long years of solar observations made by al-Zarqal,
which resulted in the establishment of new parameters for the sun as well as
a new solar model with original characteristics. Thus it is easy to imagine
that al-Zarqgl computed a table of the solar equation which has been lost.
We might, therefore, ask ourselves whether we have in the Tables of Barce-
lona a derivation of the primitive table of al-Zarqal.
I cannot claim to give here a positive or negative answer to this question.
A few remarks on the reconstructed table might prove useful, however. First
of all, the table was not computed using one of the "correct"methods explained,
for example, by al-Biruni,lg but according to the so-called "solution by decli-
nations",20a method also used for the computation of the solar equation in
al-Khwarizmi's ZG. This method involves computing the equation according
to the approximate formula:
e emax 6 (X)
(h) = ___
&
where 6 (X)is the declination of the sun for a given mean longitude and
E is the obliquity of the ecliptic.
A table of e (h)based on this formula has been recomputed using (1)al-
Zarqal's parameter for E (23;33'); (2) the table of declination of the Tables
of Barcelona,21 which has clearly a Zarqiilian origin and uses also 23;33" as
the maximum value for the dec1ination;Zz and (3) several values for the max-
SAMSO: THE SOLAR EQUATION 471
imum solar equation which are clearly attested in the Zarqalian tradition
(1;52,0"; 1;52,8"; 1;52,26"; 1;52,30"; 1;52,33"; 1;52,44"; 1;52,50"). The best
results are obtained when using emax= 1;52,0". As the values of the equa-
tion are expressed in degrees and minutes only, one gets the impression that
the astronomers of Peter of Aragon used an already existing equation table -
computed in degrees, minutes and seconds-and did not round the results,
limiting themselves to copying the values for the degrees and minutes of the
tables' entries. It is also possible that they computed independently their own
equation table, using al-Zarqgl's parameters, giving entries only to minutes.
If we consider only the absolute values of a solar equation table computed
according to the "solution by declinations," it is obvious that the entries are
the same for degrees of mean longitude having the same declination. This
seems to be true, in our equation table, for arcs of the ecliptic 0"-90" and
180"-360,but the quadrant 90"-180" presents an important series of anoma-
lies that I cannot explain: I wonder whether the entries corresponding to these
degrees of mean longitude were computed by a second person using a different
method or different parameters which I cannot specify. In any case it seems
that the person computing the table was not aware of its assymetries.
As I have already stated, the longitude of the solar apogee in the Tables
of Barcelona is 79;25,55", that is between 79" and 80" of mean longitude. As
the arguments of the equation table are expressed only in full degrees of mean
longitude, no argument corresponds to the exact passage of the sun either
through the apogee or the perigee. It is easy to observe in Peter of Aragon's
x
equation table that for = 79", e = +0;1", whilst for h = SO", e = - 0;l".
x
On the other hand, the equation is 0" for = 260" = 180" + SO", whilst
x x
it is -0;l" for = 259" and +0;1" for = 261". This should imply an error
in the entry corresponding to the passage of the sun through the apogee, which
should be placed in the table in h = 80".A much better adjustment in the
arcs of mean apogee distance between 0" and 90" and between 180" and 270"
is obtained if we accept that the table was computed considering that the sun's
apogee corresponds to h = 79". In my reconstruction of the solar equation
table I have diminished by 1" the entries in the quadrant 180"-270". For similar
reasons I have increased by 1" the entries of the quadrant 90"-1804 These errors
in the arguments in the table can be easily attributed to Peter of Aragon's col-
laborators when they performed the tedious task of adding or subtracting the
values of mean longitude to those of the solar equation.
A final remark should only underline the peculiar character of the solar
equation table which has been brought to surface from Peter of Aragon's Tables
of Barcelona. It definitely uses Zarqiilian parameters, but employs the very
old "solution by declinations" in order to compute the solar equation. One
may wonder whether competent astronomers such as al-Zarqiil or Peter of
TABLE
1
Peter of Aragon's Table of the Solar Equationa
a Recomputed values derived using the "solution by declinations":eq (x) = (eq. maX./E) S ( x ) ; eq. max. = 1;52";
E = 23;33O;values of S from the Tables of Barcelona.
472
Anomalous Anomalous
Values for Values for
Recomp . 149'-120 k Eq. Recomp. 119"-90
0;58O 61" 119" 241" 299' 1;37" 181 1;37,15O 1;39O
1;4,36
1;6,11
1;7,46
1;9,12
1;10,47
1;12,17
1;13,43
1;15,9
1;16,34 1;18 (1 74 1 106 1 254 1 286 I( 1;47 11;47,24 I 1:49 1 151 1 49 1 1;22
1;M.O 1;20 75 105 255 285 1;47 1;47.57 1;49 161 232 1;26
1;19,25 1;21 76 104 256 284 1;48 1101 1;48,26 1;49 171 300 1;35
1;20,46 1;23 77 103 257 283 1;49 1111 1;48,55 1;50 181 61 1;36
1;22,7
1;23,28 1;26 79 101 259 281 1;49 1;49.47 1;50 191 291 1;43
1;24,44 1;27 80 100 260 280 1 1;50 1;50,11 1;51 [lo] 256 1;47
1;26,0
1;27.16 1;29 82 98 262 278 1;50 [13] 1;50,49 1;51 [12] 279 1;51
1;28,28 1;30 , 83 97 263 277 1;51 1;51,8 1;52 [13] 262 1;51
1;30,50
473
474 ANNALS NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
NOTES
1. Toomer 1969.
2. MillLs 1943-50.
3. Rico, 276-77. O n Alfonsine equatoria see Wegener;Poulle 1980,193-200; Sams6; and Millis
Vendrell 1983,
4. M i l k 1943-50, 457-79.
5. Toomer 1969, 320-22.
6. See Goldstein.
7. Millis 1943-50, 473.
8. Toomer 1969, 321-22.
9. Rico, 272-73.
10. See MillLs Vendrell 1983.
11. Millds 1962.
12. Poulle 1966.
13. Millds 1962, 47-49.
14. "Displaced tables and double argument tables: see Kennedy 1971b and 1977b; King 1974
and 1975; Saliba 1976, 1977 and 1978; Jensen; and Tichenor.
15. See North.
16. Millis, 1962, 192-93.
17. Toomer 1969, 320.
18. Toomer 1968, 56.
19. Kennedy & Muruwwa.
20. See Kennedy and Muruwwa, 118-19; Kennedy 1956, 148; Kennedy and Salam; Kennedy,
Pingree, and Haddad, 300-1; Neugebauer, 95-96; Millds Vendrelll963, 42-43; and Pingree, 53.
21. MillPs 1962, 194-95.
22. Mill& 1962, 48.
23. Cdtedra & Samsb, 79.
24. Kennedy 1971a, 312.
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