Journal of Islam and Science pISSN 2307-5353, eISSN 2580-5355 Vol 9, No. 2, July-December 2022, pp. 111-118 Published by Institute of Research and Community Services (LP2M) Universitas Islam Negeri Alauddin Makassar Available online http://journal.uin-alauddin.ac.id/index.php/jis https://doi.org/10.24252/jis.v9i2.31526 Submitted: 25 August 2022; Accepted: 1 December 2022; Published Online: 30 December 2022 How to cite: Putraga, H., Butar-Butar, A. J. R., Hidayat, M., & Firdaus, M. D. 2022. The study of Arabic constellation from the book Suwar al-Kawakib al-Thabita using Stellarium software. Journal of Islam and Science, 9(2), 111-118. https://doi.org/10.24252/jis.v9i2.31526 Copyright © 2022. The authors. This is an open access article under the CC BY NC SA license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) THE STUDY OF ARABIC CONSTELLATION FROM THE BOOK SUWAR AL-KAWAKIB AL-THABITA USING STELLARIUM SOFTWARE Hariyadi Putraga 1* , Arwin Juli Rakhmadi Butar-Butar 1 , Muhammad Hidayat 1 , Muhammad Dimas Firdaus 1 1 Observatory of Falak, Universitas Muhammadiyah Sumatera Utara Denai Street No. 217, Medan, Indonesia, 20216 * Email: hariyadiputraga@umsu.ac.id Abstract: The constellations originating from Arab civilization were still very little known and studied. Al-Ṣūfi's book, al-Kawākib al-Thābitah, contains the record of coordinates, approximate magnitudes, and star details with graphs. This study examines the difference of stars in the sample constellation, compares the visual appearance of the illustrations on the Stellarium software, and studies the differences between the western constellations and the Arabic constellations. The result shows some differences between the constellations of the almagest and al-Kawākib al-Thābitah in the number of stars in the sample constellations, differences in illustrations from the orientalized figures, and the star magnitude in al-Ṣūfi's work that similar to Ptolemy's works. Al-Sufi identified a total of 134 additional stars, 65 stars located in the Northern constellations, 41 stars in the Zodiac constellation, and 28 stars in the Southern constellations. His observations showed that the magnitude values of 520 stars out of a total of 1022 stars were identical between al-Sufi and Ptolemy. Stellarium provides an excellent visual presentation of the Arabic constellations according to Al-Sufi's book that shows position, illustration, and mapping in the night sky. Keywords: Al-Sufi, Arabic civilization, constellation, software, stellarium Abstrak: Rasi bintang yang berasal dari peradaban Arab masih sangat sedikit diketahui dan dipelajari. Buku Al- Ṣūfi, al-Kawākib al-Thābitah berisi catatan koordinat, perkiraan besaran, dan detail bintang dengan grafik. Penelitian ini mengkaji perbedaan bintang pada rasi sampel, membandingkan tampilan visual ilustrasi pada software Stellarium, dan mempelajari perbedaan antara rasi Barat dan rasi Arab. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan beberapa perbedaan konstelasi antara almagest dan al-Kawākib al-Thābitah dalam hal jumlah bintang pada rasi bintang, perbedaan ilustrasi dari figur yang diorientasikan, dan magnitudo bintang pada karya al-Ṣūfi yang mirip dengan karya Ptolemeus. Al-Sufi mengidentifikasi total 134 bintang tambahan, 65 bintang terletak di konstelasi Utara, 41 bintang di konstelasi Zodiak, dan 28 bintang di konstelasi Selatan. Pengamatannya menunjukkan bahwa nilai magnitudo 520 bintang dari total 1022 bintang adalah identik antara al-Sufi dan Ptolemy. Stellarium memberikan presentasi visual yang sangat baik dari rasi bintang Arab menurut buku Al-Sufi yang menunjukkan posisi, ilustrasi, dan pemetaan di langit malam. Kata Kunci: Al-Sufi, konstelasi, peradaban Arab, perangkat lunak, Stellarium Introduction The knowledge of astronomy that has been achieved in this age, was the result of the great efforts of astronomers, philosophers, and thinkers of the past in studying and developing their thought and views towards the sky they observe. Astronomy is also like a branch of a tree that develops with the spread of the roots of knowledge and the development from time to time (Hafez, 2010). Artisan contributes their work to be able to spread knowledge and knowledge and generate interest in astronomy. Astronomy developed from earlier civilizations’ problems like finding the right time to grow crops, and harvest crops, also the commemoration of religious days. Astronomy even used to find turning points and latitudes for long voyages on sea. People were very curious to find a connection between day and night, the Sun and the Moon, as well as the stars that subsequently sent them to the visibility of celestial bodies (Putraga, 2016). This interest in observing the stars led an astronomer from Greece named Ptolemy to write a stars catalog including what we know now as the 48 classic constellations in 150 AD. The almagest lists 1,025 fixed stars with their ecliptic coordinates and magnitudes, which are further grouped into 48 constellations. This work is the most famous medieval star catalog in the Arab world (before the 12th century) (Sela, 2016).