Blog

Feb 29, 2016
3 min

Leap years and astrolabes

Since today is 29th February, a leap-year-themed post is in order. This one answers the question you’ve all been asking: how are leap ye...

Medieval (g)astronomy: my PhD in biscuit form

Seb Falk

Feb 24, 2016
1 min

Medieval (g)astronomy: my PhD in biscuit form

I submitted my PhD thesis last week (and now have a little more time to post on this blog). In large part it’s a study of this fascinati...

Seb Falk

Jun 2, 2015
4 min

Drawing up a medieval horoscope

I’ve written a blog post entitled “How to cast a medieval horoscope” before. But I didn’t tell the whole story. Regular readers of this ...

Seb Falk

Dec 16, 2014
3 min

String Theory – Medieval-style

Apologies for the long hiatus! I’ve been busy with lots of things, among them the birth of my first child. I’ll post his horoscope here...

Seb Falk

Jun 9, 2014
5 min

Launch of the Digital Equatorium

I wrote this post for the Peterhouse Perne and Ward Libraries blog. It is cross-posted from there with their kind permission. 28 May saw...

Seb Falk

Feb 14, 2014
1 min

The Scholar as Craftsman: Notes and Records article

Regular readers of this blog (if there are any, I should apologise to them for my long silence) will be familiar with the story of King A...

Seb Falk

Oct 7, 2013
2 min

Video: Connecting with Collections Symposium

I was pleased to be able to speak at (and help organise) the Connecting with Collections Symposium a few weeks ago. That event showcased...

Seb Falk

Jun 20, 2013
4 min

How to cast a medieval horoscope

I wrote this post for the blog of the 24th International Congress of History of Science, Technology and Medicine (iCHSTM), which takes pl...

Seb Falk

Jun 10, 2013
3 min

Making a brass equatorium

I’m flying to Chicago on Wednesday. There’ll be an unusual object in my luggage (is it wise to put that kind of statement online?). Yes...

Seb Falk

May 29, 2013
3 min

Three Faces of Derek de Solla Price

This post is cross-posted from the Connecting with Collections blog. I recently read a fascinating article about the early years of the d...

Titbits in the archives: how to make and move an equatorium

Seb Falk

Apr 23, 2013
3 min

Titbits in the archives: how to make and move an equatorium

This post is cross-posted from the Connecting with Collections blog. At the start of this project I was only hoping to find some documen...

Seb Falk

Mar 19, 2013
1 min

King Arthur’s Table goes on display

This post is cross-posted from the Connecting with Collections blog. Last Friday was a proud day, as the object I re-discovered and am now...

What’s the difference between an astrolabe and an equatorium?

Seb Falk

Jan 24, 2013
4 min

What’s the difference between an astrolabe and an equatorium?

This is a question I’ve been asked several times, and it’s a reasonable one given that this blog is called “Astrolabes and Stuff”, yet I’...

Seb Falk

Jan 3, 2013
2 min

Sun-spotting

We all miss the Sun at this time of year, don’t we? (Unless you’re reading this from Australia, I suppose.) Luckily for you, this blog ...

Seb Falk

Dec 17, 2012
3 min

How to predict an eclipse

Who's read Prisoners of the Sun? In this enthralling Tintin story our hero is captured by a group of Inca who have survived in secret. ...

Seb Falk

Dec 12, 2012
3 min

The Moon on a stick*

*well, on a disc of MDF, anyway. Want to know how to find the moon? Of course you do! So far on this blog I have constructed and calibra...

Seb Falk

Nov 26, 2012
4 min

Mercury’s meandering deferent

This week I’m back with my equatorium, trying to pin down precisely how well it models Ptolemy’s planetary theories (and, in turn, findin...

Seb Falk

Nov 12, 2012
4 min

Medieval Craftsmanship, Part 3

[Drumroll] Ladies and gentlemen, I shall now demonstrate the use of a medieval planetary equatorium! In the first two posts in this serie...

Seb Falk

Nov 6, 2012
4 min

Medieval Craftsmanship, Part 2

In my first post I described how I began making an equatorium according to the instructions in the fourteenth-century manuscript I’m rese...

Seb Falk

Oct 21, 2012
3 min

How I found King Arthur’s Round Table

I’ve just started a research project focusing on a medieval manuscript, The Equatorie of the Planetis. This manuscript describes the con...

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