An astrolabe is an elaborate inclinometer, historically used by astronomers, navigators, and astrologers. Its many uses include locating and predicting the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars, determining local time given local latitude and vice-versa, surveying, triangulation, and to cast horoscopes. It was used in classical antiquity, the Islamic Golden Age, the European Middle Ages and Renaissance for all these purposes. In the Islamic world, it was also used to calculate the Qibla and to find the times for Salat, prayers.
The history of the astrolabe begins more than two thousand years ago, but it is in the Islamic classical world that the astrolabe was highly developed and its uses widely multiplied.
The principles of the astrolabe projection were known before 150 B.C., and true astrolabes were made before A.D. 400. The astrolabe was highly developed in the Islamic world by 800 and was introduced to Europe from Islamic Spain (al-Andalus) in the early 12th century. It was the most popular astronomical instrument until about 1650, when it was replaced by more specialized and accurate instruments.
One of the most profound person that upgraded astrolabe is “Maryam Al-astrolubi”. She studied astrolabe from her dad.
The Muslims also bequeathed a perfected astrolabe to the Europeans which became the chief navigational tool in Europe until the 18th century. Muslims made further astronomical achievements by venturing to show how lunar and solar eclipses take place and calculating the earth’s diameter and circumference to a remarkable degree of accuracy at a time when Europeans thought the Earth was flat.
Astrolabes are still appreciated for their unique capabilities and their value for astronomy education.
