๐ช Space and stars ๐ญ Space travel and observatories
The astrolabe
๐ In short
The astrolabe is a beautiful old astronomy instrument, like a round metal disc covered in lines, engravings and turning dials. Scholars and sailors used it to tell the time, find the positions of stars and the Sun, work out directions and measure how high things were.
๐คฉ Did you know?
- Hunayn ibn Ishaq translated Greek astronomy books into Arabic more than a thousand years ago.
- Ibn Bassa was one of the most famous astronomers of Granada.
- Museums have astrolabes more than 700 years old.
- Modern instruments have replaced the astrolabe, but it's still one of the cleverest old inventions.
๐ Find out more
๐ The sky in your hand
An astrolabe has a map of the sky and its important stars. The scholar holds it up and sights a star or the Sun through a little ruler, then turns the dials to find the exact time, day or night.
๐ Muslim scholars
Muslim scholars greatly improved the astrolabe and made wonderful kinds of it. They used it to find prayer times and the direction of the qiblah, and one of its most famous makers was Mariam al-Asturlabi in Aleppo.
๐ก A work of art
Astrolabes were made of brass, with the names of stars written in Arabic and fine decorations, so many are treasures in museums today.
๐ฏ Arabic names in the sky
Thanks to Muslim astronomers, many stars still have Arabic names in every language in the world, like Altair, Aldebaran and Rigel.
๐ธ More pictures
๐งฉ Test yourself
1 Why did Muslims use the astrolabe?
2 What metal were astrolabes usually made of?
3 Museums have astrolabes more than ?? years old.
4 Which picture shows โThe astrolabeโ?
๐ช Discover more
๐ท Picture sources: Wikimedia Commons
- Khalili Collections ยท CC BY-SA 3.0 igo
- Sage Ross ยท CC BY-SA 3.0
- Andrew Dunn ยท CC BY-SA 2.0
- Evan from paris, france ยท CC BY 2.0
