Astrolabe Kit
NEW! The Astrolabe Kit The queen of early astronomical instruments, the astrolabe was prized for its beauty, mathematical sophistication, and utility in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Combining a simple observational tool with an analog computer, it was used for time finding, surveying, navigation, star finding, and astronomical calculations in both the Latin west and the Islamic world. Chaucer wrote a book on the astrolabe for his son, and in the pre-telescopic era, the astrolabe was emblematic of the astronomer’s profession. Now you, too, can own one of these marvelous instruments and learn how to use it. Created by Dr. Jim Lattis of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Dr. Sara Schechner of Harvard University, this new Astrolabe Kit is based on an astrolabe made by Jean Fusoris of Paris around A.D. 1400. Fusoris was a master craftsman who made astrolabes for princes and bishops. His career was cut short when he was arrested on espionage charges. In the LTI kit, the stars have been precessed to modern positions. The easy-to-assemble Astrolabe Kit (shown front and back above) can be used to enrich our understanding of astronomy and mathematics. Activities are drawn from the history of astronomy, navigation, and surveying to teach the important roles of astronomy and mathematics in people’s lives in earlier times. Use the Astrolabe for star calculations, measuring angles including the altitude of distant objects, finding time by the Sun and/or stars, calculating sunrise, determining latitude and more