'Armillary Spheres: Following Celestial Objects in the Ancient World'

I recently came across a very interesting article on armillary spheres. An armillary sphere is a model of objects in the sky (in the celestial sphere), consisting of a spherical framework of rings, centred on Earth or the Sun, that represent lines of celestial longitude and latitude and other astronomically important features such as the ecliptic. As such, it differs from a celestial globe, which is a smooth sphere whose principal purpose is to map the constellations. With the Earth as center, an armillary sphere is known as Ptolemaic. With the sun as center, it is known as Copernican.

Armillary spheres may be divided into two main categories based on their function – demonstrational armillary spheres and observational armillary spheres. The former is used to demonstrate and explain the movement of celestial objects, whilst the latter is used to observe the celestial objects themselves. Therefore, observational armillary spheres are generally larger in size when compared to their demonstrational counterparts. The observational armillary spheres also had fewer rings, which made them more accurate and easier to use.     

The armillary sphere is believed to have originated from the ancient Hellenic world. The inventor of this device, however, is less than certain. Some, for instance, claim that the armillary sphere was invented sometime during the 6th century BC by the Hellenic philosopher Anaximander of Miletus. Others credit the 2nd century BC astronomer, Hipparchus, with the invention of this device.

The earliest reference to the armillary sphere, however, is said to have come from a treatise known today as the Almagest (known also as the Syntaxis), written by the 2nd century AD Greco-Egyptian geographer, Claudius Ptolemy. In this treatise, Ptolemy describes the construction and use of a zodiacal armillary sphere, an instrument used to determine the locations of celestial bodies in ecliptic co-ordinates. Furthermore, Ptolemy also gives examples of his use of this device for the observation of stars and planets.

Astronomy is often considered to be one of the oldest branches of science. In many ancient societies, astronomical observations were used not only for the practical job of determine the rhythm of life, (e.g. the various seasons of the year, the celebration of festivals, etc.) but also for the philosophical exploration of the nature of the universe as well as that of human existence. Therefore, various instruments were invented to aid the important science of astronomy. One of these instruments was called the armillary sphere and it was what the ancient Hellenes would have used to plan out their festivals.