The University of Sharjah hosted an astrolabe workshop in which western scientists showed participants how an astronomical instrument made by an ancient Muslim scholar nearly 1,000 years ago measured ...

Sometimes a little modern technology can help turn up an ancient treasure — even if that technology is nothing more than a computer screen and a simple web search. That's what happened to Federica ...

While modern humans tend to think of science in terms of innovations made during the past 100 to 200 years, mankind has always had great scientific thinkers. Over 2,000 years ago, one or more such ...

A mariner’s astrolabe recovered from the wreck of one of Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama’s ships is now officially the oldest known such artifact, according to a new paper in the International ...

The Warwick Manufacturing Group, an academic department at the University of Warwick, is usually concerned with the future. Its researchers use high-resolution lasers and 3D visualizations to create ...

It may not seem as exciting as the record for the longest fingernails or largest collection of dinosaur poo, but a recent verification by Guinness World Records is a big deal for history buffs. As ...

An Islamic astrolabe from medieval Spain, discovered in a museum in Verona, Italy, has been found to contain multiple layers of Hebrew engravings, thought to be additions by various Jewish owners of ...

Astrolabes were astronomical calculating devices that did everything from tell the time to map the stars. This 16th century planispherical astrolabe stems from Morocco. Rama / Wikimedia Commons ...

More than 500 years ago, a fierce storm sank a ship carrying the earliest known marine astrolabe — a device that helped sailors navigate at sea, new research finds. Divers found the artifact in 2014, ...

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. A rare navigational tool has snagged a Guinness World Record as the oldest mariner's astrolabe.