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Arab astronomer who revised the catalogue of fixed stars established by Ptolemy and prepared an accurate map of the sky that became a standard work in the West for several centuries. Known in Europe as Azophi, al-Sufi wrote about a southern group of stars, today known as the Nebecula Major or the Greater Magellanic Cloud, based on reports from Arab sailors in the Malay Archipelago. Al-Sufi had an enormous influence on the Arab astronomical studies of his time. A small mountainous ring on the Moon is named after him.