Abstract The General Coordinates Network (GCN) is NASA’s time-domain and multimessenger alert system. GCN distributes two data products: automated “Notices” and human-generated “Circulars” that report the observations of high-energy and multimessenger astronomical transients. The flexible and nonstructured format of GCN Circulars, comprising more than 40,500 Circulars accumulated over three decades, makes it challenging to manually extract observational information, such as redshift or observed wave bands. In this work, we employ large language models (LLMs) to facilitate the automated parsing of transient reports. We develop a neural topic modeling pipeline with open-source tools for the automatic clustering and summarization of astrophysical topics in the Circulars archive. Using neural topic modeling and contrastive fine-tuning, we classify Circulars based on their observation wave bands and messengers. Additionally, we separate gravitational-wave event clusters and their electromagnetic counterparts from the Circulars archive. Finally, using the open-source Mistral model, we implement a system to automatically extract gamma-ray burst (GRB) redshift information from the Circulars archive, without the need for any training. Evaluation against the manually curated Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory GRB table shows that our simple system, with the help of prompt-tuning, output parsing, and retrieval augmented generation (RAG), can achieve an accuracy of 97.2% for redshift-containing Circulars. Our neural search-enhanced RAG pipeline accurately retrieved 96.8% of redshift Circulars from the manually curated archive. Our study demonstrates the potential of LLMs to automate and enhance astronomical text mining and provides a foundational work for future advances in transient alert analysis.

The Parahitakaraṇam is a fragmentary astronomical text of unknown authorship, existing only in a single palm-leaf manuscript whose date of composition is also uncertain. The text focuses its attention on one single step in the computation of planetary positions, that is, the calculation of planetary mean longitudes. Nevertheless, it presents several interesting issues. The text is also engaged in conversation with a canonical astronomical text of the Kerala genre, the Karaṇapaddhati . This paper provides a translation of the source text. Mathematical notes and worked examples are also provided to illustrate the computational process, which encodes several variations, sometimes quite subtle, in the case of each planetary computation.

Tithinirṇaya is a celebrated astronomical text of the Mādhva tradition, intended primarily to assist in computing the appropriate days for observing a religious fast. For this purpose, it prescribes a procedure to obtain the tithi at sunrise for an observer located at latitude (φ) near 12.780. This work supplies a translation of the text along with mathematical and geometric rationales for the astronomical algorithms presented therein, which are either inadequate or missing in prior publications. The work also investigates the disputed authorship of the text and briefly remarks upon its religious applications.

Abstract Eclipse reckoning constituted a significant component of the Indian astronomical tradition and was underpinned by a sophisticated interplay between mathematical theory, observational data, and visual practices. This paper focuses specifically on the diagrammatic dimensions of eclipse computations as articulated in classical Sanskrit treatises. By closely examining two distinctive passages drawn from the astronomical texts Siddhāntaśekhara and Uparāgakriyākrama, composed over the course of the second millennium CE, we investigate how Indian astronomers employed graphical methods to visually represent eclipse phenomena. These diagrammatic constructions reveal a nuanced understanding of eclipse occurrences. Our analysis highlights key features of these procedures, including the geometric frameworks, instruments, and terminologies employed. We also consider how these visual methods evolved across different texts, noting both similarities and differences in their presentation and underlying rationale. In doing so, we demonstrate how theoretical formulations and empirical observations were integrated within these visual methods, shedding light on how theory and observation informed practice and how these complex astronomical events were made accessible to broader audiences.

Семантические расстояния между понятиями микромира в физических и астрономических текстах

How incunabula reached the Bohemian lands is still an underresearched topic. Using astronomical prints as a case study, this contribution examines whether such works were already available in the Bohemian-Moravian book market during the fifteenth century. The study focuses on the production of printer Erhard Ratdolt, operating first in Venice (1476–1486) and later in Augsburg, who specialised in this market segment and published 38 astronomical and astrological works. The research is based on a published catalogue of 104 copies of astronomical works from both Ratdolt presses (published as an appendix), now held in Czech libraries and archives. The study examines provenance marks to distinguish copies that arrived in the region during the fifteenth century (approximately half) from those imported in later centuries. The survey reveals that astronomical titles from Ratdolt’s Augsburg press, and to a lesser extent from his Venetian press, did penetrate the Bohemian-Moravian market, albeit in limited numbers. Most of the books were purchased in foreign markets by students from Catholic regions of Bohemia and Moravia, as they travelled abroad for university studies and established the core of their libraries there. Nevertheless, the study demonstrates that Ratdolt’s astronomical prints also reached Prague University, though they were mostly acquired by individual masters. During the post-Hussite period, astronomical instruction at Prague University, which admitted only Utraquist students, stagnated. This was reflected in the limited number of scholars capable of engaging with demanding astronomical texts. To confirm these preliminary findings, a comprehensive provenance survey of all astronomical incunabula in Czech institutions will be necessary, extending beyond a single printing press. Such research will also contribute to the history of astronomy, as our knowledge of this discipline’s development during the Jagiellonian period remains inadequate.

In this study we present a previously-unknown astronomical and mathematical instrument. This is a sundial for all latitudes made in 1477 and dedicated to the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II who is known for his interest in astronomy. It is a unique example of a type of instrument previously known only from Arabic astronomical texts some two centuries earlier. This sundial, which enables the user to measure time from the solar altitude throughout the year, is conceived for all inhabited latitudes (as in classical geography, this would be from the equator to about 45°). By necessity, therefore, it is based on an approximate but practical formula for timekeeping. In Islamic civilization sundials have a history of over 1,000 years, but this has yet to be documented on the basis of surviving sundials and texts – of these, universal sundials form a small but significant part. The immediate source of the design for this particular universal sundial can be identified as an Egyptian treatise on astronomical instruments from the late 13th century; however, the device itself was much earlier, maybe originating as far back as Baghdad ca. 900. The formula was known already to the earliest Muslim astronomer al-Fazārī in Baghdad ca. 750. This sundial is a mathematical device as well an astronomical one, in the sense that it was not really intended to be used as a practical time-telling device. It is so small that it would be difficult to measure time with it under any circumstances; the same is true of many hand-held astronomical instruments. It may be «universal» but one could hardly travel about with it. Nevertheless, at some time it was brought from Istanbul to Bucharest, either whilst the latter was still under Ottoman control or even thereafter. In fact, it is simply an intriguing object embodying mathematical quantities associated with an elegant astronomical formula for timekeeping, and a testimony to part of the essence of the transmission of ideas from Antiquity to the early Muslim world, thence to Mamluk Egypt and on to the early Ottoman world. And similar devices appear in Renaissance Europe. This «new» sundial reveals how little we knew previously about the astronomical interests of Mehmet II and their level of sophistication; it invites a new look at the relevant sources. This study deals with materials not yet incorporated into the current history of Ottoman astronomy. It casts light on astronomy and dialling in 15th-century Istanbul and it adds substantially to our knowledge of Mehmet II’s interest in astronomy.

The Graha-lāghava (“Easy [computation] of the planets”; epoch date 1520), is an astronomical handbook, authored by Gaṇeśa Daivajña (b. 1507 CE) of Nandigrāma. This work became one of the most popular astronomical texts of the second millennium in India and gave rise to a new astronomical school of parameters, eponymously known as the “Gaṇeśa-pakṣa.” We analyze the first of the 16 chapters that make up this work, which covers planetary mean positions and velocities, providing a translation and technical commentary of the text. In our exposition, we also invoke two substantial commentaries on this work that were composed in the 17th-century by brothers Mallāri and Viśvanātha, which help clarify and contextualize Gaṇeśa’s contributions. An Appendix to the online edition of the Journal gives the Sanskrit text of the quoted passages.

During the Tang dynasty (618–907 ce), a significant number of Persian nobles sought safety in China following the downfall of the Sasanian Empire in 651 ce. These Persians possessed a distinct cultural identity, which was highly esteemed by certain Chinese elites. In contrast to Indians who migrated to China during and before this period, with their influence primarily mediated through Buddhism, Persians played prominent roles in secular fields such as astronomy, medicine and commerce. This article explores the history of Persian astronomers in China, placing their presence within the broader context of knowledge exchange across Eurasia, with a focus on their lives, works and interactions with the Chinese. Although their impact on Chinese astronomy and culture may have been limited, their tradition later served as a precursor to the astral science of Perso-Islamic astronomers in China from the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368 ce) onwards. This is exemplified by a variety of Sino-Persian astral works such as the astronomical text Futian li 符天曆, the horoscopic treatise Yusi jing 聿斯經, the Ming astral anthology Mingyi tianwenshu 明譯天文書 and the Sino-Islamic Canon Huihui li 回回曆.

The history of the science of the stars (astronomy and astrology) in fourteenth-century Byzantium is significantly intertwined with the implications of theological and philosophical controversies. A less-explored astronomical text authored by the fourteenth-century Byzantine scholar Theorodos Meliteniotes (ca. 1320–1393 CE) provides new historical factors toward a historiography of the differences between scientific and theological discourses, their development in the transition to early modern times, and the different historical developments of science in the worlds of the Eastern and Western Churches.

This paper focuses on the life and scholarship of Qu?b ad-D?n al-Sh?r?z? (d. 1311 CE), a Muslim Persian polymath, who has contributed in many fields such as philosophy, astronomy and medicine. A talented and precocious student, and was tutored by his own father, the young man of Qu?b ad-D?n al-Sh?r?z? was already appointed as a physician even during his teenage years. Eventually the quest for knowledge led him to leave his hometown of Sh?r?z and visit several scholars before he eventually settled in Mar?ghah. Here he learned and collaborated with many other great scholars such as Na??r al-D?n ??s? (d. 1274 CE) and Mu’ayyad al-D?n al-‘Ur?? (d. 1266 CE) in the field of observational astronomy. They set up and worked in the famous Mar?ghah observatory, and Qu?b ad-D?n al-Sh?r?z? collaborated in the production of Z?j-l Ilkh?n? or the Ilkh?n? Tables, which was one of the most important astronomical tables being produced from the Mar?ghah observatory. Other than his contribution in astronomy, we would also briefly mention his contribution in other fields such as philosophy and medicine. The methodology is a literature review, which we used both the secondary sources and the primary source. The primary source is the astronomical text of Qu?b ad-D?n al-Sh?r?z? which is called Nih?yat al-Idr?k, and it is in the form of a manuscript, which had been acquired from the British Library.Keywords: Qu?b ad-D?n al-Sh?r?z?, Mar?ghah observatory, Islamic astronomy, Islamic philosophy, Islamic medicine

The eighth-century Latin manuscript Milan, Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana, L 99 Sup. contains fifteen palimpsest leaves previously used for three Greek scientific texts: a text of unknown authorship on mathematical mechanics and catoptrics, known as the Fragmentum Mathematicum Bobiense (three leaves), Ptolemy's Analemma (six leaves), and an astronomical text that has hitherto remained unidentified and almost entirely unread (six leaves). We report here on the current state of our research on this last text, based on multispectral images. The text, incompletely preserved, is a treatise on the construction and uses of a nine-ringed armillary instrument, identifiable as the “meteoroscope” invented by Ptolemy and known to us from passages in Ptolemy's Geography and in writings of Pappus and Proclus. We further argue that the author of our text was Ptolemy himself.

The midnight sun is a fascinating phenomenon observed near the Earth’s poles. Whether it is known through observation or through theory, it is bound to provoke one’s curiosity, since it involves the most familiar object in the sky, viz. the sun. This paper seeks to investigate the various ways in which this phenomenon was understood or considered in ancient literature, focusing on Indian astronomical literature. It is found that some texts primarily describe the phenomena at the poles themselves, while the remaining additionally describe the latitudes at which one would see days that are a few months long. A comparison is made across texts in order to facilitate an understanding of the methods and the accuracy of the texts discussed.

At the crossroads of the history of science and knowledge, and the methodologies of intellectual and conceptual history, this article proposes an evaluation of the development in late modern Burma of the beidin category (astrology and divination) through an appraisal of Burmese astrological literature. It will examine some of the earliest Burmese sources dealing with astrology and divination, before assessing a range of past and present collections of beidin-related texts to gauge the changes the category underwent during the "long Burmese nineteenth century," stretching from the 1780s to the mid-1890s, focusing especially on the last two decades of the eighteenth century, a time of military conquest and of intense circulation of people, ideas, texts, objects, and practices. In an attempt to "re-Brahmanize" royal rituals, King Bodawphaya (r. 1782–1819) sent several missions to India to retrieve Sanskrit manuscripts, and then ordered his Head monk Maung Daung Hsayādaw (1753–1833) to translate them into Burmese. Astronomical texts represent a third of the beidin corpus brought from India between 1786 and 1810 and almost half of Maung Daung Hsayadāw's translation work. Royal collections of beidin manuscripts were also updated with classical texts (sixth–twelfth centuries) and "modern" versions and commentaries from the sixteenth to seventeenth centuries on horoscopy, catarchic astrology, and divination. This paper concludes by arguing that this transition period laid the foundations for the modern Burmese concept of astrology, both inside and outside the royal court.

Gaṇitagannaḍi: An astronomical text of 1604 CE in Kannada by Śankaranārāyaṇa Joisaru of Śṛngeri, translation with mathematical analysis by B.S. Shylaja and Seetahrama Javagal [Navaratnakara Publications Pvt. Ltd., First published 2021, Second Print: 2021, iv + 220, price: ₹ 350/ (India) US $ 25 (abroad)

In the history of exchanges between Islamicate and Sanskrit astral sciences, Nityānanda's Siddhāntasindhu (c. early 1630s), composed at the court of the Mughal emperor Shāh Jahān (r. 1628─58), is among the earliest examples of a Persian astronomical text translated into Sanskrit. In an earlier study, Misra (2021) described the sociohistorical context in which Nityānanda translated Mullā Farīd's Zīj-i Shāh Jahānī (c. 1629/30) into Sanskrit, and among other things, provided parallel comparative editions, with English translations, of the Persian and Sanskrit text describing the computation of true declination of a celestial object. While Misra's paper focused on the linguistic aspects of the translation process, the present paper studies the mathematics of the three methods of computing the true declination vis-à-vis Nityānanda's recension of his Sanskrit translations from his germinal Siddhāntasindhu to his chef d'œuvre, the Sarvasiddhāntarāja (1638). The paper begins by discussing the transformation of the Sanskrit text from the Siddhāntasindhu Part II.6 to the spaṣṭakrāntyadhikāra 'topic of true declination' in the gaṇitādhyāya 'chapter on computations' (henceforth identified as I.spa·krā) of his Sarvasiddhāntarāja. The metrical verses of Sarvasiddhāntarāja I.spa·krā are edited and translated into English for the very first time. A large part of this paper focuses on the technical (mathematical) analysis of the three methods of true declination, and includes detailed explanatory and historical notes. The paper also includes several technical appendices and an indexed glossary of technical terms.

Abstract Among the astronomical texts devoted (in various ways) to the description/explanation of the stars and their phenomena, the sources allow us to identify a somehow ‘specific textual current’ that consists in those texts which were variously used or conceived as tools to convey knowledge of the ‘star map’ to a non-specialist public, even if they are different from each other in terms of structure and ‘technical-scientific’ level (especially in relation to the presence or not of the specific coordinates of the stars). The success of these texts over the course of the tradition is one of the main signs that suggest the diffusion of this subject matter in non-specialist contexts. According to the sources, the practical-applied benefit of such knowledge, above all in terms of ‘time reckoning’, seems to be at least one of the – certainly multiple and varied – reasons for this diffusion, and perhaps not the least significant one.

A comparative study of depiction of astronomical texts and astrological texts in Iranian painting

The article focuses on ancient astronomy as an academic dis-cipline. Antiquity created a holistic image of the world and a cul-ture of thinking, in which the natural and exact sciences and lib-eral arts were not artificially differentiated and remained in har-monious unity, becoming the basis of an interdisciplinary ap-proach in education. Therefore, even the exact sciences were studied literarily from poetic works. On the example of ancient culture, the connection between the astronomical worldview and other components of the mindset is particularly clearly traced. This is crucial in terms of technology since ancient pedagogy contained all the criteria for technological effectiveness. In the Homeric age, the basic mnemonic rules for navigating by the stars, the definition of the conditions for visibility of heavenly bodies in all seasons, the connection of celestial phenomena with the calendar, known since the Cretan-Mycenaean age, were liter-arily recorded in the epic. This trend was further developed in Hesiod’s didactic epic and took shape in the content as a para-digm of astronomical education. The appearance of Cleobulina’s astronomical riddles appeared, which are allegorical in nature and show similarities with the allegories of Homer, took place approximately at the same time. In subsequent periods (from the 5th century BC), the school study of the Homer and Hesiod’s works required writing comments on the astronomical passages of these and later other authors. With the development of natural philosophical doctrines, new methods of presenting astronomical material appeared. The original form of the philosophical epic was replaced by a prosaic form. The reaction to the natural philo-sophical revolution led to a preference for the traditional Homer and Hesiod. Special educational astronomical texts written by such authors as Aratus, Germanicus, Alexander Aetolus, etc. came to exist-ence as a separate group.

The article is an edited and critical study of an unpublished astronomical text entitled "The Astronomical Instrument Known as The Two-Pronged Machine" of a Damascene astronomer from the thirteenth century AD, Ismail ibn Heba Allah al-Hamawi. ancient scientific texts on this instrument are written by al-Kindi then Ibn Abbad and al-Nayrizi. Al-Kindi's text is the only text published from ancient texts, and today we present to researchers in the development of astronomical instruments a new text to contribute to enriching our knowledge of the scientific tradition of astronomical instruments in Islamic civilization.