A parchment, part of a larger manuscript found in the library of the Bobbio Abbey in Italy, is believed to be authored by ancient Greek mathematician, astronomer, and geographer Claudius Ptolemy. It provides new insights into Ptolemy’s work and sheds light on an important tool used in ancient astronomy – the armillary instrument, also known as Ptolemy’s Meteoroscope. It was primarily a tool used to calculate heights and distances in relation to celestial bodies.

The manuscript describes the construction and uses of this ancient tool for tracing distances and the stars. Ptolemy’s Meteoroscope was used for astronomical observations and calculations, and could be used to determine a range of information such as one’s latitude in degrees from the equator, the exact date of a solstice or equinox, or the apparent location of a planet in the zodiac.

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It was a complex device consisting of nested and mobile metal rings that could be used for astronomical observations and calculations, according to the study published in The Archive for History of Exact Sciences . It had been referenced in several ancient texts, including Ptolemy‘s own book on mapmaking, ‘Geography’.

Read more: Ancient Origins