Flatpack Astrolabe Kit, Mk II

Dominic Ford and Katie Birkwood

30th November 2010

This document contains a series of images which should be printed and cut
out to make a simple cardboard version of a medieval astrolabe. The resulting
astrolabe is a simplified and modernised version of that described in Geoffrey
Chaucers c. 1391 Treatise on the Astrolabe, and has been constructed following
the prescription described in Eisner (1975, 1976a, 1976b). The diagrams in this
document have been produced using PyXPlot.

Instructions
Pages 2, 3 and 5 should be printed out onto paper, or more preferably onto
thin card. Page 4 should be printed onto a sheet of transparent acetate. The
two sides of the Mother (pages 2 and 3) should be glued rigidly back-to-back,
perhaps sandwiching a piece of rigid card. The Rete, printed onto transparent
acetate, should be placed over the Plate, on the front of the Mother. The Label
and the Rule should be placed on either side of the astrolabe: the Rule, marked
out with a declination scale, should be placed over the Plate and the Rete, whilst
the Label should be placed on the back of the Mother. The whole construction
may then be fastened together by placing a split-pin paper fastener through the
centre.
For more information, please visit: http://www.joh.cam.ac.uk/library/
library_exhibitions/schoolresources/astrolabe

References
[1] Chaucer, G., Treatise on the Astrolabe, in The Riverside Chaucer, ed. L.D.
Benson (Boston, 1987)
[2] Eisner, S., J. Brit. astr. Ass., 86(1), 18-29 (1975)
[3] Eisner, S., J. Brit. astr. Ass., 86(2), 125-132 (1976a)
[4] Eisner, S., J. Brit. astr. Ass., 86(3), 219-227 (1976b)

Cavendish Laboratory, J.J. Thomson Ave, Cambridge, CB3 0HE, UK.

St Johns College Library, Cambridge, CB2 1TP, UK.
http://www.pyxplot.org.uk

c 2010 Dominic Ford & Katie Birkwood. Permission is granted to make

unlimited copies for educational or personal use only. Not for commercial use or
resale.
 FLATPACK ASTROLABE KIT 2

Mother: Back

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c 2010 Dominic Ford & Katie Birkwood. Permission is granted to make

unlimited copies for educational or personal use only. Not for commercial use or
resale.
 FLATPACK ASTROLABE KIT 3

Mother: Front

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Midnight

c 2010 Dominic Ford & Katie Birkwood. Permission is granted to make

unlimited copies for educational or personal use only. Not for commercial use or
resale.
 FLATPACK ASTROLABE KIT 4

The Rete

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c 2010 Dominic Ford & Katie Birkwood. Permission is granted to make

unlimited copies for educational or personal use only. Not for commercial use or
resale.
FLATPACK ASTROLABE KIT 5

The Label and Rule

20
10
0
10 20 30 40 50 60 70

10 20 30 40 50 60 70
0
10
20

(a) Rule (b) Alidade

c 2010 Dominic Ford & Katie Birkwood. Permission is granted to make

unlimited copies for educational or personal use only. Not for commercial use or
resale.