An astrolabe<span> is an elaborate </span>inclinometer<span>, historically used by </span>astronomers<span> and </span>navigators<span>, to measure the </span>inclined position<span> in the sky of a </span>celestial body<span>, day or night. It can thus be used to identify stars or planets, to determine local latitude given local time and vice versa, to survey, or to </span>triangulate<span>.</span>
The astrolabe was an instrument that had great developments in the Islamic world during the year 800 and was introduced in Europe through Islamic Spain in the early 12th century.
It serves to solve problems related to the position of the Sun and the stars in the sky. In the Muslim world they often used it also to calculate the prayer schedule and locate the direction of Mecca.
With the help of astrolabs, compasses, quadrants and diopters, the so-called "astronomical tables" were built, in which the positions and movement of the celestial bodies were found.
The astrolabe also allowed Muslim astronomers to study the solar spheres and to propose planetary models to explain the phenomenon of trepidation.
