The origins of the astrolabe were in classical Greece. Enters in Europe from Moslem Spain. Peaks its popularity in the 15th and 16th centuries, and was one of the basic astronomical education tools.

Astrolabes can be used to solve many astronomical problems that would otherwise require rather sophisticated mathematics. All of they everyday uses are not known, but they were certainly used to tell time during the day or night, to find the time of sunrise and sunset, to locate celestial objects in the sky and also to determine aspects of horoscopes.