Thursday 14 January 2021

Astrolabe

Does anyone know how an astrolabe works? Astrolabes are mentioned in Poul Anderson's:

A Midsummer Tempest
Rogue Sword
The Man Who Counts
The Merman's Children
-see here (Scroll down)
 
I first encountered the word in Aldous Huxley's The Perennial Philosophy which quotes:
 
"The astrolabe of the mysteries of God is love."Jalal-uddin Rumi"[4]
 
Ali, who runs the Asian Food Store on our street, has given us a calendar with Rumi quotations this year.

1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I looked up the link to astrolabes, but I don't pretend to say I understand how they work. But it's plain these devices were used by astronomers and navigators probably down to at least the 18th century.

I doubt these devices are used these days except by those with an interest in antique or obsolete technology.

Ad astra! Sean