Chapter The forgotten nautical astronomical instruments

Abstract

Astrology and meteorology have always had great importance for agriculture and navigation. They are described some measuring and forecasting instruments which, in the past, had a moderate success to navigate the Mediterranean, but they were forgotten because they were supplanted by other more reliable instruments in oceans. We refer to: parapegma, (made when meteorology was still a particular aspect of astrology); a calculator for determining the position of stars; instruments to establish position of a ship with respect to the Sun or the North Pole and to determine ships direction and speed