Welcome to your Astrolabe!
Congratulations on your interest in a modern incarnation of an ancient instrument. Astrolabes have been around for thousands of years, but they remain useful today. Please read through the following sections of the manual in order to get the best from your instrument.
Parts & Plates
Finding Times
Finding Positions
Unequal Hours & Shadow Square
References
https://web.ccsu.edu/astronomy/abelard.htm
https://in-the-sky.org/astrolabe/unequal_hours_2.php
https://www.e-education.psu.edu/eme810/node/530
https://www.shadowspro.com/en/planispheric-astrolabe.html
‘The Astrolabe’ by James E Morrison (2007)
‘The Planispheric Astrolabe’, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, 1985
Document history:
Version 1: 30 September 2020
Version 2: 13 May 2021 – addition of Multi Plate version
Version 3: 20 May 2021 – addition of finding current time
Version 4: 01 December 2021 – split manual into sections, and added choice of plate azimuth markings
Version 5: July & August 2023 – Correction to RA/Dec finding. Addition of ‘Adding sky object to rete’. Correction to reading Unequal Hours on the back of the astrolabe.