The bronze astrolabe, originating from the 9th and 10th century Baghdad, forms part of the Sotheby’s ‘Arts of the Islamic World and India’ sale in London.
The bronze astrolabe, originating from the 9th and 10th century Baghdad, forms part of the Sotheby’s ‘Arts of the Islamic World and India’ sale in London.
So much opportunity for science! Does it still work? Is it accurate? Do the positions of the celestial bodies it shows correspond exactly with where they should have been 1,000 years ago? Is there anything it shows that the manufacturer of that time should not have known, and if so, does that indicate they had observational methods we didn’t previously know they had?