A Thousand Years of Looking Up: The Skies Between Ptolemy and Copernicus - October 17

Saturday, October 17, 2026, 10am - 11:30am PT / 1pm - 2:30pm ET
Regular Registration through October 17: $40

For thousands of years, human beings have looked to the sky and asked the same enduring questions: Where are we? How does the universe work? How can the motions of the heavens help us find our place within it? Yet the history of astronomy is often told as though these questions passed from ancient Greece directly to Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, and Newton — with nearly a thousand years of discovery, debate, observation, and innovation reduced to a historical footnote There is a much richer story to tell.

During the Islamic Golden Age, scholars working across a vast and culturally diverse world inherited astronomical knowledge from Greek, Persian, Indian, and other traditions — and then did what scientists have always done. They measured the universe more carefully. They questioned accepted ideas when observation and theory did not agree. And they transformed mathematical models of the heavens, helping lay foundations upon which later generations would build.

In this interactive 90-minute Learn@ASP workshop, we will meet three remarkable thinkers — al-Biruni, Ibn al-Haytham, and Nasir al-Din al-Tusi — not simply as names from the history of astronomy, but through the questions they asked. How can measurements made from one small place reveal the size of an entire world? What should we do when evidence challenges the authority of our greatest thinkers? And how do ideas travel across cultures, languages, and centuries to change our understanding of the cosmos?

Together, we will explore a richer story of astronomy that is less a succession of isolated discoveries than an ongoing human conversation with the sky — one in which knowledge is inherited, tested, challenged, transformed, and shared.

Designed for formal and informal educators, this workshop will also provide practical ideas, activities, stories, and resources for bringing the astronomy of the Islamic Golden Age into classrooms, planetariums, museums, and public programs. Participants will be introduced to Al Jauza, a growing educational platform devoted to sharing the rich astronomical heritage of the Islamic world, and will leave with resources for continuing their own exploration.

By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to use at least one classroom-ready activity or story to connect the contributions of Islamic Golden Age astronomers to a core astronomy concept while illustrating how scientific knowledge develops across cultures, generations, and civilizations.

This workshop takes place in one 1.5 hour live session.

A certificate of completion for participating in 2 clock hours of professional development.

Attendance/Refund Policy

Live attendance is strongly encouraged and expected in order to get the most out of the interactive session. A recording will be available for those who cannot attend live or who would like to review the content.