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Egyptian merkhet, (maker) — c. 600 BCE

Ancient Egyptian astronomer-priests used this instrument for timekeeping at night. They used a sighting stick to align the merkhet with the Pole Star, making a north–south line. Watching certain stars cross this line enabled them to determine the time. The ... read more
Islamic astrolabe (shown in parts), (maker) — 901-1100

Knowing the time for prayer and locating the direction of the holy city of Mecca is a key part of Islam. Medieval Islamic scholars developed the original Ancient Greek design for an astrolabe to create a highly sophisticated instrument. Many ... read more
Ptolemaic armillary sphere, (maker) — 1500–99

This model depicts Ptolemy’s Earth-centred cosmos. The bands illustrate the motion of the Sun, Moon and stars. Armillary spheres were used in medieval times to teach priests how to calculate the hours of prayer at sunrise and sunset. Portraits of ... read more
Arabic celestial globe, (maker) — 1601-1700

The silver stars on this globe are labelled with their Arabic names. We still use many Arabic names to describe the stars today – in the constellation of Orion the Hunter, the star Rigel is named after the Arabic word ... read more
Islamic horary quadrant, (maker) — 1700-99

Horary quadrants determine the time from the altitude of the Sun. This Islamic instrument may have been used to calculate prayer times. Highly portable, it can be used from any location on Earth. The lines on the front represent the ... read more
William Herschel’s ‘infrared’ prism, (maker) — 1795-1805

This may be the prism used by William Herschel when he accidentally discovered invisible radiation in 1800. Using the prism, he split sunlight into its different colours and measured their temperatures. He noticed that the temperature was highest beyond the ... read more
Divination plate, (maker) — 1800-99

Divination plates such as this one are thought to have been used for casting horoscopes. In the inner ring you can see characters from the zodiac such as Leo the Lion, Taurus the Bull and Libra the Scales. Although this ... read more
Magic lantern slides, (maker) — 1811-25

These slides were used to project colour images of the planets and the Great Comet of 1811. In the early 1800s travelling lecturers astounded their audiences with magic lantern shows. Astronomy was highly fashionable at the time, and lectures were ... read more
French folding fan with a satirical scene of the comet of 1811, (maker) — 1811-15

This fan was inspired by the Great Comet of 1811. The centre scene shows a seated lady with a comet-like headdress representing Venus, while spectators view the comet outside. The inscription says ‘today’s craze – Venus, or the pretend comet’. ... read more
Handbill for an astronomy lecture by Mr Bartley on 30 March 1827, (printer) — 1827

Here, Mr George Bartley advertises giant projections of the zodiac and a 40-metre moving model of the Solar System. Bartley was a comedian for most of the year, but when shows stopped during Lent he performed astronomy lectures to supplement ... read more
Framed embroidered illustration of an astrologer/alchemist, (maker) — 1870-1930

Astrologers made a lucrative living casting horoscopes for royalty. Kings believed that what happened in the heavens foretold events such as war and famine on Earth. But by the 1600s, astrology’s failure to make accurate predictions caused it to fall ... read more
Ecliptoglass eclipse viewer, (maker) — c. 1927

The best views of the 1927 solar eclipse were in the north of England. There were advertisement hoardings, special postage stamps and extra trains to Yorkshire. This eclipse viewer was purchased from Croisdale’s in Leeds (note the stamped address) and ... read more
1999 Eclipse tea towel, (maker) — c.1999

This fetching tea towel is one of many commemorative souvenirs that could be purchased in celebration of the 1999 solar eclipse. It shows clearly the passage of totality over Cornwall and the tip of France. read more
Camera from the Super Wide Angle Search for Planets (SuperWASP), (maker) — 2001–2009

SuperWASP’s twin telescopes are searching for new planets outside of our Solar System. This ordinary-looking camera lens from SuperWASP-North (La Palma) helped the team find their first two planets in 2004. Each telescope has eight cameras that monitor millions of ... read more
Prototype test mass from the GEO-600 gravitational wave detector, (maker) — 2003

This piece of pure sapphire is a prototype test mass for the British–German GEO-600 experiment. Tiny movements of the experiment’s test masses would indicate the presence of a gravitational wave. These elusive waves are predicted by Einstein’s general theory of ... read more
Casts of Chinese zodiac figures (Tang dynasty), (maker)

These figures depict the ox, dragon, horse and rooster of the Chinese zodiac. Each year in the calendar’s 12-year cycle, based on the orbit of Jupiter, is associated with a different animal. According to traditional belief, your character is influenced ... read more
Casts of Chinese zodiac figures (Tang dynasty), (maker)

These figures depict the ox, dragon, horse and rooster of the Chinese zodiac. Each year in the calendar’s 12-year cycle, based on the orbit of Jupiter, is associated with a different animal. According to traditional belief, your character is influenced ... read more
Casts of Chinese zodiac figures (Tang dynasty), (maker)

These figures depict the ox, dragon, horse and rooster of the Chinese zodiac. Each year in the calendar’s 12-year cycle, based on the orbit of Jupiter, is associated with a different animal. According to traditional belief, your character is influenced ... read more
Ivory Buddhist Tibetan talisman, (maker) — Unknown

In Tibet, small pocket-sized carvings like this one could be carried as a talisman against evil spirits. The design is based on the belly of a tortoise, with a magic square of nine numbers surrounded by the animals of the ... read more
Casts of Chinese zodiac figures (Tang dynasty), (maker)

These figures depict the ox, dragon, horse and rooster of the Chinese zodiac. Each year in the calendar’s 12-year cycle, based on the orbit of Jupiter, is associated with a different animal. According to traditional belief, your character is influenced ... read more
Pluto bumper stickers, (designer)

On 24 August 2006 the International Astronomical Union voted on a new definition of ‘planet’. The decision demoted Pluto to ‘dwarf planet’, reducing the number of planets in our Solar System to eight. This generated a flurry of worldwide news ... read more