[Ansteorra] King's College class: The Venerable Astrolabe

[Galen of Ockham, OP]

Unto the Stellar Populace of Ansteorra does Galen of Ockham send Greetings!

Three weeks hence at King's College I will be teaching a class entitled
'The Venerable Astrolabe'. An astrolabe is an ancient astronomical
computer that can tell time, map the sky, aid the surveyor, do
trigonometry, and much more. The course will introduce the instrument
and some of its basic uses.

There is no requirement to purchase any materials for the class (nor is
there a fee), however, if you would like your very own Personal
Astrolabe to work through the examples and then explore the Heavens in a
Medieval way on your own, read on!

I have contacted Jim Morrison, the maker of the Personal Astrolabe. Mr.
Morrison is arguably the world's expert on the theory of construction of
astrolabes. He has told me that he can produce up to a dozen Personal
Astrolabes and have them delivered by King's College if he receives the
order within the next week. An email order using PayPal is the most
expeditious method to submit your order. Please annotate your order as
being for "King's College" to ensure expedited handling. The Personal
Astrolabe is a heavy-duty laminated paper astrolabe individually created
for any location and year that you specify. Details and ordering
information can be found on his website at
http://astrolabes.org/personal.htm. For a more medieval appearance, I'd
recommend the Classic Edition. The astrological Houses of the Heavens
were not used prior to 1500, so choose appropriately. I would recommend
the current era (AD 2010) and a geographical location near where you
anticipate using the instrument the most. The website
http://itouchmap.com/latlong.html is a Google Map interface that can
help you find the latitude and longitude of any point, or you can
contact me for help. I would also appreciate it if you would drop me a
note to let me know you're attending and also if you're purchasing a
Personal Astrolabe to assist in my planning.

*Disclaimer: I do not benefit financially from sales of Personal
Astrolabes. I have known Mr. Morrison (at least as an internet
acquaintance) for over 10 years regarding the workings of the Astrolabe,
but am not involved with his commercial venture.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

I look forward to seeing you all at King's College!

Galen
-- 
Magister Galenus Ockhamnesis
Friar Galen of Ockham, OP
A Study in Natural Philosophy: http://medievalscience.org
Chirurgeon's Point: http://chirurgeon.org <http://chirurgeon.org/>