Re: Astrolabe and Almagests

From: Sergio Mascarenhas <sermasalmeida_at_mail.telepac.pt>
Date: Thu, 4 Jun 1998 11:19:05 +0100

Phillip Hibbs:
> Has anyone got any ideas what an Astrolabe is, or what "Almagests" are?
> There they are, lurking in the starting equipment for a civilised Adept
> Sorceror ... but what the hell are they?
>
> PS. I'm not actually expecting anyone to know what they are, they are
> probably just strange words that someone made up that sound mystcal, but
> I'm hoping someone's come up with a crackpot theory.

I know nothing about Almagests, but be certain that Astrolabes did and do exist in the RW, even if they are no longer used. The Astrolabe was invented by arabian saylors in the middle ages and enanced by Portuguese navigators in the 15th century. It's basically an instrument to measure how high the sun is in the sky, allowing high-sea saylors to know the lattitude. It was a key development that allowed off-coast navigation.

Until the 18th century, the equipment of a sea vessel's pilot was the Astrolabe, a map, and a "sayling needle" (in Portuguese) meaning a (called "needle" since the magneto had the shape of a needle).

I will try to find some images of astrolabes in the net, but right now I'm not being able to do it. If I can find it, I will post it.

Hope this helps.

Sergio

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