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The document provides a guide on how to create a cardboard astrolabe, an ancient astronomical instrument used for observing celestial objects and telling time. It includes instructions for downloading a kit tailored for specific latitudes, assembly steps, and the necessary materials. The astrolabe design is based on Geoffrey Chaucer's work and aims to make historical astronomical practices accessible to modern users.

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Carlos Ramalheira
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14 views6 pages

Index PHP

The document provides a guide on how to create a cardboard astrolabe, an ancient astronomical instrument used for observing celestial objects and telling time. It includes instructions for downloading a kit tailored for specific latitudes, assembly steps, and the necessary materials. The astrolabe design is based on Geoffrey Chaucer's work and aims to make historical astronomical practices accessible to modern users.

Uploaded by

Carlos Ramalheira
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 6

Location: Coimbra (40.21°N; 8.

42°W)
In-The-Sky.org
Guides to the night sky Make your own astrolabe - 1.
Introduction

Make your own Astrolabe


by Dominic Ford

1. Introduction 2. The astrolabe 3. Mother back

4. Mother front 5. Unequal hours 6. Equal hours

7. Unequal hours II 8. Shadow scale 9. Extreme astrolabes

10. Epilogue 11. Acknowledgements

1. Introduction
Astrolabes are elaborate astronomical instruments, combining a mechanical
model of the sky's rotation with a simple sight, which can be used to make
observations of the elevation of objects above the horizon. Put together, these
tools allow the user to tell the time, identify objects in the sky, and predict
when objects will rise and set.

In the Middle Ages, astrolabes were the most sophisticated astronomical


instruments in widespread use, a position which they held for nearly two
thousand years, from the time of their invention by Hipparchus (c. 190–120
BCE) until the turn of the seventeenth century. They only fell out of use around
the time that the telescope was invented in 1609, as astronomers began to
require more precise tools.

Today, the curious astronomer who wants to learn more about medieval
observing practice may �nd it hard to �nd a specimen to play with. Historical
examples are highly valuable, and usually found only in glass cases in
museums. To solve this problem, I have created a cardboard cut-and-glue kit
which you can download and print to make your own model astrolabe.

The design presented here is based upon one described by the English poet
Geo�rey Chaucer in his Treatise on the astrolabe, published in 1391. In a series
of three papers published in 1975–6, American historian Sigmund Eisner
provided detailed geometric instructions for recreating Chaucer's astrolabe,
which I follow closely.

Download your astrolabe

The design of an astrolabe depends on the geographic location where it is to


be used, since di�erent stars are visible from di�erent places. I have created
kits for use at a wide range of latitudes, and you should use the form below to
download the kit that most closely matches where you live.

Astrolabes are available in two varieties: a full astrolabe which has all of the
features described in Sigmund Eisner's papers and in the pages which follow,
and a simpli�ed astrolabe which has only the essential features, and may be
more appropriate for use with groups of children, for example.
Select latitude Select language

40°N English

Select features

Full astrolabe

Part Download links

Complete kit, with instructions PDF

Front of mother PDF SVG PNG

Climate PDF SVG PNG

Front of mother, with climate PDF SVG PNG

Rete PDF SVG PNG

Rule PDF SVG PNG

Back of mother PDF SVG PNG

This astrolabe kit was designed using a collection of Python scripts


and the pycairo graphics library. If you would like to customise your
astrolabe, you are welcome to download the scripts from my GitHub
account and modify them, providing you credit the source:
https://github.com/dcf21/astrolabe

Building your astrolabe


What you need

A printer (to print your astrolabe kit)

Three sheets of thin card or paper

A sheet of transparent plastic, e.g. acetate, which is safe to put


through a printer

Scissors

Glue

A split-pin fastener

A short piece of ribbon or string

Assembly instructions

Step 1 – Download an astrolabe kit using the


form above. You can either download the
individual components separately, or as a
single PDF �le. In order to �t together, the
pieces must be printed at the same scale,
which is easiest achieved with the single PDF
�le.

For your present location of Coimbra, we


recommend a astrolabe designed for
latitude 40°N, which you can download here .

Step 2 – Print the front and back sides of the mother onto separate sheets of
paper, or more preferably onto thin card. Also print the rule onto paper or
card. The rete should be printed onto a sheet of transparent plastic, such as
acetate sheets sold by most stationery suppliers.

Step 3 – Cut out the front and back sides of the mother, and glue them back to
back. You may wish to sandwich a piece of cardboard between them to make
your astrolabe more rigid.

Step 4 – Place the rete, printed on transparent plastic, over the front of the
astrolabe.

Step 5 – Cut out the rule and the alidade. The rule (on the left) should be
placed over the top of the rete, on the front side of the astrolabe. The alidade
should be placed on the back of the astrolabe.
Step 6 – Now all of the parts of the astrolabe
need to be �xed together with a split-pin
fastener.

All of the components have small circular


holes marked, which you should cut out. If
you have a paper drill to hand, these are
ideal, but otherwise you can use a compass
point and enlarge the hole until it is around
2mm across by turning the point in a circular
motion.

Once all the holes are made, slide a split-pin


fastener through the rule, rete, mother and
alidade of the astrolabe in turn, and fold the
split pins back to fasten the astrolabe
together. Ensure that the central hole is big
enough that the alidade, rete and rule can
turn freely.

Congratulations, your astrolabe is now ready


for use. Click next below to learn how to use
the astrolabe.

Next » References

License

Like everything else on this website, these astrolabe kits are © Dominic Ford.
However, they are provided for the bene�t of amateur astronomers
worldwide, and you are welcome to modify and/or redistribute any of the
material on this website, under the following conditions: (1) Any item that has
an associated copyright text must include that unmodi�ed text in your
redistributed version, (2) You must credit me, Dominic Ford, as the original
author and copyright holder, (3) You may not derive any pro�t from your
reproduction of material on this website, unless you are a registered charity
whose express aim is the advancement of astronomical science, or you have
the written permission of the author.
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© Dominic Ford 2011–2020.


For more information including contact details, click here.
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Last updated: 17 Jan 2020, 19:20 UTC
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