Astrolabe

thingiverse

This astrolabe project was inspired by a TED video featuring Tom Wujec, which can be viewed [here](http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/tom_wujec_demos_the_13th_century_astrolabe.html). The creator drew the astrolabe using Corel and utilized various sources for line copying. Notable resources include an electric astrolabe from [here](http://www.astrolabes.org/electric.htm) and star fields printable for any location, courtesy of James Morrison. Additionally, Daniel Rislove's website at [this link](http://www.uwsp.edu/physastr/rislove/astrolabe/resource.htm) offers printable paper versions to test astrolabes. The creator lives in Peru and aimed to make a Southern hemisphere astrolabe, which functions differently than those of the Northern hemisphere. As a result, separate outer ring and rete designs were created for both hemispheres. While the accuracy may not be high due to image-based starting points and manual drawing, the creator is open to suggestions on mathematical methods to create accurate longitude lines. The astrolabe can be made using 3mm acrylic in two colors, with a clear piece for the rete. Alternatively, the rete and star field can be printed directly onto a sheet of acetate. Rastering the text and divisions is the first step before cutting out the edges. Assembly involves a bolt and wing nut through the center, with the larger alidade at the back and the smaller rule at the front. The rete with the ecliptic fits inside the back plate and outer ring. Custom plates can be created using one of the mentioned programs to generate an image file, which is then drawn over in Corel. Acrylic paint is used to fill in the lines by scraping it across the acrylic piece. However, the creator notes that the right-hand side of their astrolabe didn't take the paint well on the backside.