Navigating the Stars: How to Use an Astrolabe With Alexander Boxer
In this two-part lecture series, discover the ancient tool of mathematical beauty, the astrolabe, and learn how it was used to explore the cosmos.
Course Description
For over a thousand years, the astrolabe was the most important and beautiful tool in the study of the cosmos, from Cairo to Cambridge and beyond. This hand-held instrument, with its elegant rotating discs, functioned as a portable computer, simplifying complex astronomical and astrological calculations with a simple motion. Despite its sophisticated mathematical foundation, the astrolabe is surprisingly intuitive to use—once you know what you’re looking at! In this course, you'll use an interactive, online astrolabe to uncover its inner workings and learn to see the heavens as the ancients did. Through virtual hands-on exercises, you’ll discover how the astrolabe remains an unmatched tool for understanding basic astronomy. Whether you want to tell time by the Sun, identify visible stars, or determine your birth constellation, this course will reveal the timeless beauty and sophistication of medieval science.
All participants will receive a copy of A SCHEME OF HEAVEN: The History of Astrology and the Search for Our Destiny in Data which will be referenced during this course. Register by November 25 to get your book in time for the course!
Syllabus At A Glance
This course includes two total sessions, each lasting 1.5 hour on two consecutive Tuesdays beginning December 10.
Session 1 (Tuesday, 12/10, 8–9:30 PM ET)| Astrolabe Essentials
Learn the basics about this incredible instrument and its starring role in the history of astronomy.
Session 2 (Tuesday, 12/17, 8–9:30 PM ET)| Astrolabe Exercises
Put your knowledge to the test as we work through medieval astrolabe exercises that Geoffrey Chaucer—famed author of the Canterbury Tales—devised for his 10-year old son, Lewis.
Between Sessions
All participants will receive a copy of A SCHEME OF HEAVEN: The History of Astrology and the Search for Our Destiny in Data which will be referenced during this course. Register by November 25 to get your book in time for the course!
Pricing Options
This course is available at three ticket prices. This tiered pricing model is designed to increase access for a wider range of students as well as to support our instructors. In addition to tiered tickets, we offer a limited number of no-pay spots for students who would not otherwise be able to take this course. No-pay spots are selected via a randomized drawing two weeks before each section begins. For more information and to apply for a no-pay spot, please click here. To learn more about our pricing model and randomized selection process for no-pay spots, please visit our FAQ page.
Community Guidelines for Students
Please take a moment to review our community guidelines for students, which aim to share our classroom ethos and help set the stage for the best possible learning experience.
Atlas Obscura Online Courses
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Once registered, you’ll receive a confirmation email from Eventbrite that will provide access to each class meeting. Please save the confirmation email as you’ll use it to access all sessions of your course via Zoom.
Alexander Boxer is the creator of an interactive, online astrolabe which has been used as a teaching tool in lectures, classrooms, and museum exhibitions. He is the author of A SCHEME OF HEAVEN: The History of Astrology and the Search for Our Destiny in Data. Written as a curious skeptic's guide to astrology, A SCHEME OF HEAVEN emphasizes the astrolabe and its technology to make the case that astrology was really history's original data science. Alexander Boxer has a Ph.D. in physics from MIT, a master's degree in the history of science from Oxford, and a bachelor's in classical languages from Yale. He lives with his wife and four children in St. Louis, Missouri.
This lecture series is designed so students can participate live or watch a recording of each session, after it airs, at a time that is convenient for them. Sessions will take place live over Zoom, with dedicated Q&A segments for students to ask questions via video or chat. Within 72 hours after each session meets, students will receive access to a recording of the live session, which they can watch for up to two weeks after the course concludes.
Instructors may use Google Classroom to communicate with students outside of class. While students aren’t required to use Google Classroom, instructors may use this platform to post resources, discussion questions, or assignments. This platform also offers a space for students to connect with one another about course material between sessions.
We provide closed captioning for all of our courses and can share transcripts upon request. Please reach out to us at [email protected] if you have any questions, requests, or accessibility needs.
