Astrolabe - 1st/2nd Century BC Technology

Imagine if you could use a single instrument to tell the time, locate the stars & find your way anywhere in the ancient world. Enter the Astrolabe. Built by Greeks in the 2nd or 1st century BC, it was improved by the Islamic astronomers who added more features & functions. They could project the sky onto different planes & calculate eclipses. As a cultural item, it spread from the Islamic world to Europe, Asia & beyond. It was used for navigation, astrology, education & religion. This was the most advanced scientific instrument of its time & it shaped the fields of mathematics, astronomy, geography & engineering.