1.What is astrolabe?
Answer : The astrolabe is a very ancient astronomical computer for solving problems relating to time and the position of the Sun and stars in the sky.
2.Does it tell time as exactly as today clock?
Answer : Not so exactly of course.But people in the middle age does not need to know time so exactly.But it was accurate enough for that period.
3.Do you know who invent it?
Answer : No.But we know that Greek astronomers already use this. Some claim that Ptolemy invented it.
4.What is so special about astrolabe?
Answer : Its one of most used instruments in the islamic civilisation and as well in europe 11 century on, when transfer of knowledge from islamic world to europe.
5.Who preserve this knowledge?
Answer : The people of the islamic world.And they translated it into arabic, add some new features, and made it better.
6.Why you think today people need to find out about astrolabe?
Answer : It's a part of the history of the islamic world,but many muslims are not aware of this device existence.They can also know something about their history and appreciate their own history more.
7.What is the example of the use of this device in the islamic world?
Answer : Its used to find the prayer time.Its important to know the exact time for the 5 prayer for the muslims.
8.How do you see the scientific knowledge of those muslim people at that time, comparing to the Greek?
Answer : The Greeks know the principle behind the astrolabe, but the real astrolabe did not survive from that time. The mathematical principle of astrolabe, a projection method called the stereographic projection, survives from the greek time.The people from the islamic world use the theory to contruct their own astrolabe. And they added some new feature such as lines of equal direction, that did not exist in the Greek manuscrip that survives till now that we know of. Thats the contribution of the islamic scholars.
9.What is the impact of the introduction of the astrolabe from the islamic civilsation on the science and technology in the west later on?
Answer : European astronomy at a certain point,began to realize that islamic astronomy was on a higher level than their astronomy. Astrolabe was one of the instruments that they are very much interested into. It become very popular to them. Astrolabe is roughly a sophisticated mathematical instruments, and it shows how high the muslims astronomy and mathemathics was. It also show the skill of the maker, because astrolabe have a lot of lines and circle on it and has to draw carefully or it will not function.
10.What is the story that we can learn from astrolabe?
Answer : Astrolabe tells a very fascinating story. Astronomy passes from the Greeks to the Muslims, from the Muslims to Europe, from the Europe to the modern period.It also tells about the development of the technology. Astrolabe have many stories to tell, but you have to look at the instruments of course, and it helps if you understand how it works.
11.Today people are not really interested in this kind of things. What do have to say on that?
Answer : I think its a pity.Because we can learn a lot of things from that and its a part of your heritage, which i think, everybody who has interest in knowledge, should know about.
12.Why do our clock that we wear today turn clockwise and the numbers also clockwise ?
Answer : Because when the first clock were made, and they had to design it, they just copy it from astrolabe. The astrolabe also goes that way. This is also one of the lasting effect of the astrolabe on the modern clock
