A lot of people walk past astronomical clocks in old European cities, take a quick photo, maybe watch the figures move for a minute, and then continue on without thinking much about what they are actually looking at.
Big omission! Just as the knowledge of ancient Greeks came to Medeival Europe through the Islamic world, so did knowledge of the astrolabe and astronomical clocks:
"Astrolabes were further developed in the medieval Islamic world, where Muslim astronomers introduced angular scales to the design,[19] adding circles indicating azimuths on the horizon.[20] It was widely used throughout the Muslim world, chiefly as an aid to navigation and as a way of finding the Qibla, the direction of Mecca. Eighth-century mathematician Muhammad al-Fazari is the first person credited with building the astrolabe in the Islamic world.[21] The earliest Arabic treatise on astrolabes was composed sometime around 815 CE.[22]
The mathematical background was established by Muslim astronomer Albatenius in his treatise Kitab az-Zij (c. 920 ce), which was translated into Latin by Plato Tiburtinus (De Motu Stellarum). The earliest surviving astrolabe is dated AH 315 (927–928 ce). In the Islamic world, astrolabes were used to find the times of sunrise and the rising of fixed stars, to help schedule morning prayers (salat). In the 10th century, al-Sufi first described over 1,000 different uses of an astrolabe, in areas as diverse as astronomy, astrology, navigation, surveying, timekeeping, prayer, Salat, Qibla, etc.[23][24]
An Arab astrolabe from 1208
The spherical astrolabe was a variation of both the astrolabe and the armillary sphere, invented during the Middle Ages by astronomers and inventors in the Islamic world.[b] The earliest description of the spherical astrolabe dates to Al-Nayrizi (fl. 892–902). In the 12th century"
Great survey of these early mechanical marvels-I only recognized some of them. The best part: no computer necessary!
Sure. We save electricity but we lose in precision. Tks
Big omission! Just as the knowledge of ancient Greeks came to Medeival Europe through the Islamic world, so did knowledge of the astrolabe and astronomical clocks:
"Astrolabes were further developed in the medieval Islamic world, where Muslim astronomers introduced angular scales to the design,[19] adding circles indicating azimuths on the horizon.[20] It was widely used throughout the Muslim world, chiefly as an aid to navigation and as a way of finding the Qibla, the direction of Mecca. Eighth-century mathematician Muhammad al-Fazari is the first person credited with building the astrolabe in the Islamic world.[21] The earliest Arabic treatise on astrolabes was composed sometime around 815 CE.[22]
The mathematical background was established by Muslim astronomer Albatenius in his treatise Kitab az-Zij (c. 920 ce), which was translated into Latin by Plato Tiburtinus (De Motu Stellarum). The earliest surviving astrolabe is dated AH 315 (927–928 ce). In the Islamic world, astrolabes were used to find the times of sunrise and the rising of fixed stars, to help schedule morning prayers (salat). In the 10th century, al-Sufi first described over 1,000 different uses of an astrolabe, in areas as diverse as astronomy, astrology, navigation, surveying, timekeeping, prayer, Salat, Qibla, etc.[23][24]
An Arab astrolabe from 1208
The spherical astrolabe was a variation of both the astrolabe and the armillary sphere, invented during the Middle Ages by astronomers and inventors in the Islamic world.[b] The earliest description of the spherical astrolabe dates to Al-Nayrizi (fl. 892–902). In the 12th century"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrolabe?wprov=sfla1
Thanks for the education. Somehow I always thought these clocks were 1650s tech. Fascinating to learn they are from a much older cosmic understanding.
Amazing pleased