Astrolabe
device · 150 BC · Ancient world
An angle-measuring instrument and analogue calculator of celestial positions.
What it is made of
- Astrolabe mater — has part. The main disc with a scale.
- Astrolabe plate — has part. A replaceable plate for the latitude.
- Astrolabe rete — has part. An openwork star map.
- Alidade sighting rule — has part. A sighting rule.
Principles and materials it uses
History: what it evolved from and what it influenced
- Quadrant — evolved into. A simplified angle gauge.
What it is a kind of
- Computing device — is a kind of. An analogue calculator of celestial positions.
Things built in a similar way
- Antikythera mechanism — works like. Both are analogue astronomical calculators.
- Armillary sphere — works like. Three-dimensional and flat models of the celestial sphere.