Saturday, February 9, 2008

"Astrolabe 1210"


An astrolabe was an elaborate three-dimensional apparatus used since ancient times to help chart the course of the stars and planets.
This vision was derived from a work by Mary Stebbins Taitt, and was processed on Picasa.
The finished original, "Equisetum Globe" can be viewed on Mary's blog http://imagik.blogspot.com/

5 comments:

Andree said...

I am fascinated by your blog and have added it to Reader. I know I'm going to be learning from you!

Michael Serafin-St. John said...

Thank you very much for your kindness, Andree. Please stay in touch!

bluerose said...

Wow! It looks completely different from the original. I like it. I didn't know that that's what those things were called.

Michael Serafin-St. John said...

Yes, Blue, but I went for years knowing the word and not what it was. There were a lot of different designs, many made by the finest clock and instrument makers around, and they were almost always very expensive. One of the most famous "astrolabers" was Galileo. I believe Nostradamus also had one, and they were in use during the American Revolution, too.

Michael Serafin-St. John said...

If you want a quick and easy look at the history and uses of the astrolabe, go to
http://www.astrolabe.org/