Possibility of The Azimuth of Sirius Based on Stellarium for Determining the Qibla Direction

Rahma Rahma

Abstract


The brightest star in the night sky is Sirius. The azimuth of Sirius can be calculated so that the difference in the azimuth of the Qibla can be known. Therefore, Sirius has the potential to be used as a reference for determining the Qibla direction at night, serving as an alternative when the Qibla direction cannot be determined during the day. This research examines the possibility of determining the Qibla direction using Sirius based on Stellarium data.

This research is a qualitative library research approach with a descriptive form. The primary data is the calculation results of Qibla azimuth and its difference from Sirius azimuth. The secondary data includes astronomical data from the website Stellarium-web.org, Qibla formulation from the book Ilmu Falak Arah Kiblat Setiap Saat by Slamet Hambali, and interview data with astronomy enthusiasts. The determination of the Qibla direction using Sirius based on Stellarium data is fundamentally achieved by calculating the azimuth difference. The success of determining the Qibla direction using Sirius depends on how, when, and where the Qibla direction measurements are conducted.


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.33096/jah.v2i1.21677

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