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A few years ago I enjoyed a blog post in which National Maritime Museum curator Rebekah Higgitt wrote about the “navigation” theme of the new New Zealand passport design.  Higgitt discussed the use of John Harrison’s H1 clock as an illustration in the passport.  She also noted that the description on the New Zealand government website mentioned an astrolabe, which piqued my interest.  I tried to find out more, but the website didn’t include pictures, and none of my Kiwi frien

I started this blog when I reconstructed a medieval equatorium.  I wanted to understand how it worked, and the best way was to follow the instructions in the unique manuscript that describes it. Last weekend I did it again, with three different instruments: a sextant, a cross-staff, and a mariner’s astrolabe. I’m a keen sailor, and one reason I first got interested in history of science was because of my fascination with navigational techniques.  Lots of stories are told abou