![]() ![]() In Arabic texts, the word is translated as ākhidhu al-Nujūm ( Arabic: آخِذُ ٱلنُّجُومْ, lit. astrolabe) was given various etymologies. In the medieval Islamic world the Arabic word al-Asturlāb (i.e. OED gives the translation "star-taker" for the English word astrolabe and traces it through medieval Latin to the Greek word ἀστρολάβος : astrolábos, from ἄστρον : astron "star" and λαμβάνειν : lambanein "to take". In addition to this, the lunar calendar that was informed by the calculations of the astrolabe was of great significance to the religion of Islam, given that it determines the dates of important religious observances such as Ramadan. In regards to the astrolabe's religious functionality, the demands of Islamic prayer times were to be astronomically determined to ensure precise daily timings, and the qibla, the direction of Mecca towards which Muslims must pray, could also be determined by this device. The astronomical interest varied between folk astronomy (of the pre-Islamic tradition in Arabia) which was concerned with celestial and seasonal observations, and mathematical astronomy, which would inform intellectual practices and precise calculations based on astronomical observations. At the time of their use, astrology was widely considered as much of a serious science as astronomy, and study of the two went hand-in-hand. ![]() Although it is less reliable on the heaving deck of a ship in rough seas, the mariner's astrolabe was developed to solve that problem.ġ6th-century woodcut of measurement of a building's height with an astrolabeĪ 10th-century astronomer deduced that there were around 1000 applications for the astrolabe's various functions, and these ranged from the astrological, the astronomical and the religious, to seasonal and daily time-keeping and tide tables. The astrolabe's importance comes not only from the early developments into the study of astronomy, but is also effective for determining latitude on land or calm seas. It was used in classical antiquity, the Islamic Golden Age, the European Middle Ages and the Age of Discovery for all these purposes. Historically used by astronomers, it is able to measure the altitude above the horizon of a celestial body, day or night it can be used to identify stars or planets, to determine local latitude given local time (and vice versa), to survey, or to triangulate. In its simplest form it is a metal disc with a pattern of wires, cutouts, and perforations that allows a user to calculate astronomical positions precisely. Its various functions also make it an elaborate inclinometer and an analog calculation device capable of working out several kinds of problems in astronomy. A modern astrolabe made in Tabriz, Iran in 2013.Īn astrolabe ( Ancient Greek: ἀστρολάβος astrolábos Arabic: ٱلأَسْطُرلاب al-Asṭurlāb Persian: ستارهیاب Setāreyāb) is an ancient astronomical instrument that was a handheld model of the universe. ![]()
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