ASTRONOMICAL

INSTRUMENTS

SUNDIALS

(16th Century B.C. or earlier, Egypt) The ancient Egyptians were one of the
first cultures to widely divide days into generally agreed-upon equal parts,
using early timekeeping devices such as Sundials, Shadow Clocks, Merkhets
& Plumb Lines used by astronomers of the period. In times when people's
activities were limited to daylight, shadow-casting instruments called
gnomons were used to distinguish broad divisions in the daytime. Gnomons
were eventually combined with scales to produce sundials, which allowed
people to tell time by measuring the length or direction of the shadow cast
by the Sun. An Egyptian Sundial from about 1500 B.C. provides the earliest
evidence of the division of the day into equal parts. Marks on the dial link
the length of the gnomon's shadow to a standardised unit. The ancient
Egyptians made the first Sundials. Before the division of the day-night period
into 24 equal hours, the number of hours counted during any period of
daylight was held constant across the seasons; thus, an hour in summer
lasted longer than an hour in winter because the daylight period itself was
longer. Sundials had to be specially made for different latitudes because the
Sun's altitude in the sky decreases at higher latitudes, producing longer
shadows than at lower latitudes. Not everyone in the ancient world realised
this. Interestingly, a Sundial brought to Rome (4154' N) from Catania,
Sicily (3730' N), in 263 B.C. told Romans the incorrect time for almost a
century.

ASTROLABE

Muslim astronomers care about manufacturing this astronomical device, The

Astrolabe, which they inherited from the Greek civilization, they also
developed it, and wrote great valuable books on how to use it. The usage of
this remarkable device, astrolabe, continued until the nineteenth century
and it is not known specifically who invented it, some referred to the Greek
Scientist Hipparchus (BC) as mentioned in Ptolemy's book, Almagest (150
CE) Muslim scientist Mohammed ibn Ibrahim al-Fazari (died in 180 AH) is
the first scientist to write a book in description, manufacture, and the use of
the astrolabe, and he was the first who have made Astrolabe in Islam.
Muslim scholars and scientists concerned about the Astrolabe and gave
much attention to its huge role in determining the times of worship
(Prayers), the direction of Mecca, and the solar and lunar eclipses, as well as
its important role in astronomy and making Zij (Astronomical Almanac),
determining distances, and to identify scientific measurements and most
importantly the knowledge of the time at night by the stars and during the
day by the sun , so The members of our astronomical society made a lot of
astrolabes to understand it and to know how to use it.

SHADOW CLOCKS

Shadow Clocks, another form of Sundials came into usage. The Shadow
Clock divided night time into 50 parts, with an additional 2 twilight hours in
the morning and evening. It was made up of a long stem divided into 6
parts, and an elevated crossbar that cast a shadow over the marks. This
early clock was positioned eastward in the morning, while at noon it was
rotated to face west, measuring as the sunset in the opposite direction.
Ancient Egyptian Obelisks were larger, more public designs of Shadow
Clocks; markers around the obelisk would indicate units of time, and
indicated morning, afternoon, the summer solstice (the longest day of the
year), and the winter solstice (the shortest day of the year).

QUADRANTS

Quadrants mean a quarter of circle made on the wall or paper for use in
observations and invented by the Muslims and the Quadrants were
important instruments at the great observatories as in Maragha and
Samarqand Observatory, where Ulgh Beg built in Samarkand observatory
huge Quadrants( around three floors tall) and others Reference has been
made for when Ptolemy Quadrant on the wall The small Quadrants made
from metal or wood was invented by Muslims in the third hijri century and
has several types of them as : Quadrant of almucanteres is a quarter of the
astrolabe where the altitude lines are drawn called almucanteres. Sine
Quadrant is a quarter depends on the Sine and cosine of the angles used in
trigonometry, Professor Samir El-aidy member of Astronomical Society made
a lot of quadrants.

WATER CLOCKS

An early Egyptian Water Clock, dating to about 1500 B.C., was found among
other items in the tomb of the pharaoh Amenhotep I of the 18th Dynasty,
their creation is attributed to an inventor named Amenemhat. Early water
clocks were bowl-shaped, with a small hole in the bottom. It is a little stand
with a pot on the top of the stand and a pot at the bottom of the stand. The
pot at the top of the stand had a hole drilled in the side. This pot was then
filled with water and the water would flow out of the top pot down to the
bottom pot. When the water was at a certain level, it was a certain time.
Markings on the side, at even intervals, indicated the passage of every
twelve hours. Water clocks were useful as people could accurately measure
time, in all seasons, and even during the night. Another type of Water Clock
had a float in the water. The float is connected with a 'hand' indicating the
time on a board.