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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

by Jenny Bulstrode Astrolabes and Stuff is proud to present its first ever guest post!  For this we must thank Jenny Bulstrode, a student in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at Cambridge. Quadrants, sextants, octants, none of them really meant much to me until last year. They’re all descendants of astrolabes. They’re all based around a circle with a scale marked on it. They’re all just fans of metal with bits on. The only way I could see the Navy using one