In researching the astrolabe and related tools, geometric construction comes up regularly. I find the process of using a straight edge and compass to create accurate designs to be fascinating in and of itself. One of my ongoing projects is drafting an astrolabe using just those tools. The other day I ran across a fascinating […]
Astrolabes were on display at Maker Faire Nova. The Maker Faire at George Mason University was this past Sunday. A good time was had by all. I had a prime site for my display and had a constant stream of visitors. On display were all my various paper versions of astrolabes and quadrants, along with […]
Next Sunday I will be displaying my work at the 6th Annual Maker Faire Nova (https://nova.makerfaire.com/) at George Mason University. I will have a wide selection of astrolabes, quadrants and such, along with all my current handouts and will be doing demonstrations. Come find me in the MIX building.
So, I’ve been busy. There will be several posts over the next few days, catching things up. Most importantly to me personally: I now have access to the tools and space to start working in something other than paper. I’ll be posting about the Nova-labs Maker-space at length later. Next, related to that, I now […]
For quite some time now I have been basing my class, and my discussions here, on an astrolabe with fairly basic options. Linked to the right you will find a zip file containing the components for this basic astrolabe, along with the handout for my class. But there is more to the astrolabe than just […]
Links The previous installments in this series can be found here: Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Printable example Sine Quadrant In the last 5 installments we have broken down the various parts and functions of the sine quadrant. I’ve now come to the end of what I currently know. So […]
In part four we examined the Asr lines and how to use them to find the proper times for the start and end of the Asr prayer required of all Moslems. This week we are going to look at an alternate method of determining that by examining yet another of the sine quadrant’s advanced functions. Links […]
In Part Three we examined the obliqity arc and how to use it to find the local angle of the Sun at Noon. This week we are going to look at one use for that information, and in doing so, examine another of the sine quadrant’s advanced functions. Links The previous installments in this series can […]
I got this last night via Twitter: https://twitter.com/cforchino/status/434176137216794626 Nice work, he has a steadier hand than I do. Please do email or tweet me your astrolabes, I’ll be glad to post them. Addresses are on the right.
In part two we began examining the functionality provided by the various lines and arcs visible on the front of a typical sine quadrant. The use of the sine and cosine arcs was fairly straight-forward, being related to the basic function of the device (converting from angle to sine/cosine and back). Next we are going to […]