Which systematic error, arising from limited angular resolution, affected early Islamic astronomical measurements made observing lunar eclipses?

💡 Explanation

When observing lunar eclipses, diffraction occurs because light waves bend around the Earth's shadow edge blurring the umbral boundary, leading to uncertainty in determining eclipse contact times and lunar diameter. Therefore, diffraction causes the systematic error, rather than parallax, refraction, or aberration, that result from different observational conditions.

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