Anyone up for reading a #medieval symbol (or two)? Here's the rete of an astrolabe at HSM Oxford (hsm.ox.ac.uk/collections-...) - with the circle of zodiac signs for the sun's place in the ecliptic and a selection of star pointers. It's been variously dated to c. 1360 and c. 1400. 1/4

If everything goes according to plan, there will be an article in the December issue of the Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society. As you'll see, the qualified "newness" of the find isn't just because it's an old object. It was described 70 years ago when sold at a London auction. 1/2

David ALBERTO@astrolabe-science.fr · 3w ago

Just finished reading your blog post. Very exciting find! Eager to learn more about this object.

Just published online: a blog post with the first findings from my January research trip to Jacksonville, Florida. This is the unexpected location of a remarkable "new" astronomical compendium by the 16th-century London maker Humfrey Cole. More to follow.... scientificinstrumentsociety.org/blog/

For all those dropping everything to attend this seminar tomorrow, there's now a new, simplified link from @luiscamposribeiro.bsky.social: us02web.zoom.us/j/82936830101 See you there!

Barbara Bienias@bbienias.bsky.social · last mo.

I hope you might be interested in my talk on Henry Coley and his astrological notebooks this Wed (1 July) at 6 pm Lisbon time. Zoom link/QR code is in the poster below. #earlymodernsky #astrology #almanacs #historyofscience #manuscripts #helenaavelarseminar

At the time of his death in 2023, Jim Bennett had begun a study of Elizabethan navigation. Only its introduction was approaching completion; the edited draft has now been published in the online journal of the @hakluytsociety.bsky.social. Direct download from www.hakluyt.com/downloadable...

Another edition of the excellent Coffee with a Codex series - this time playing away from home with a new acquisition in upstate New York (www.rit.edu/carycollecti...). The live timing was perfect for a viewing party at GHA 2026 eida.hypotheses.org/seminars-2/2....

Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies@sims-mss.bsky.social · 2mo ago

If you missed our visit with Rochester Institute of Technology's Cary Collection 15th century Italian copy of Johannes de Sacrobosco's De Sphera Mundi (bound with two other texts) you can watch it now! It has some unusual diagrams that are worth seeing. youtu.be/FSyZjp5Fm4g

Being back in Paris meant another chance to visit the Réserves of the @museeartsetmetiers.bsky.social in St Denis. This time I was able to take a microscope to document this astrolabe - thought to be (at least partly) from the workshop of Regiomontanus.

Stephen Johnston@stephenaj.bsky.social · 2y ago

This was a first reconnaissance visit. The exceptional instruments will need further study. Among them an astrolabe from the workshop of Regiomontanus, whose replacement horse was wedged in so tightly that we could not open it. 17/25

👀 "This project has received $0 in research funding"👀 A great reminder that funding does not automatically equate to research excellence!

On Monday I get to present with some of the small but incredible collection of @labnf.bsky.social. It's extremely cool to begin a hands-on session by saying "This 11th-century celestial globe is one of the two oldest surviving Islamicate examples in the world." gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/b...

Stephen Johnston@stephenaj.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Looking forward to welcoming the new cohort of international students in Paris on Monday. And also very conscious of all the hard work behind the scenes to run this marvellous approach to the astral sciences again, this time with a new focus. Hats off to the core team for their organising efforts!

Looking forward to welcoming the new cohort of international students in Paris on Monday. And also very conscious of all the hard work behind the scenes to run this marvellous approach to the astral sciences again, this time with a new focus. Hats off to the core team for their organising efforts!

COSMOPOET@cosmopoet.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Starting on Monday we will be teaching the history of the astral sciences on a global scale with the historical sources themselves: manuscripts, prints, globes, astrolabes - thanks to @labnf.bsky.social and @obs-paris-psl.bsky.social for hosting us!! ✨✨ eida.hypotheses.org/seminars-2/2... #histsci

On this day in 1583.... (makes a great change from following the news in 2026)

Neil Younger@neilayounger.bsky.social · 2mo ago

In London, Bartholomew Newsam, clock-keeper to the queen, receives a payment of 32s 8d for 'mending of clocks during the past year.' This clock, belonging to the British Museum, is an example of his work. 5/

Astrolabes, astrological rolls and maps, among other goodies, all available online next Monday and Tuesday

COSMOPOET@cosmopoet.bsky.social · 3mo ago

📣The collaboration between @obs-paris-psl.bsky.social and @csmc-hamburg.bsky.social continues with the second workshop dedicated to the spatio-temporal profile of multigraphic written artefacts: 18–19 May 2026, Paris, at Observatoire de Paris and online. 🤩

Remarkable drawing by Frances Yates from 1952, as she was studying Giordano Bruno's art of memory. This is the lead image for Relics, a new student-curated exhibition at the @warburginstitute.bsky.social. Much looking forward to seeing this up close.... mailchi.mp/sas/news-fro....

This week dedicated to #diagrams is now over, but the work continues towards the publication of our results and the next phase in the life of the #EIDA community. Huge thanks to @obs-paris-psl.bsky.social for hosting us and for sharing it's beautiful secrets with us! #msca #histsci

Random, and with a dash of mystery - not even some prosaic alt-text to dispel the intrigue of the final image......

COSMOPOET@cosmopoet.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Random cosmopoetic things from recent weeks

Is that first one the dials of Gonville and Caius College? Or am I overanticipating my own visit there on Tuesday?

COSMOPOET@cosmopoet.bsky.social · 5mo ago

This week Cosmopoet is in sunny 🌞 (no joke!) Cambridge and there are clocks all around: some eat time, while others are on a diet ☺️

Astrology and the writing of history, addressed in a chunky 512 pages, and with an intriguing cover image too (a celestial planisphere from some sort of architectural setting? Will have to get the book to find out....)

Dr. Rachel Schine@rachelschine.bsky.social · 6mo ago

GUYS GUYS GUYS my incredible colleague, Antoine Borrut, just texted me this pic, the BOOK IS IN HAND, which means you too can have it soon! Astrology and History in Early Islam, coming out with Edinburgh!

... and diagrams that were assembled and bound separately from a written text that they must have accompanied. But did Rossetti publish such an astronomical work? Not sure. (But his fortification book has images that remind me of fractals and the en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandelb... !)

Divna Manolova@dulila.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Thinking of diagrams: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeLU...

Call for papers as part of the Scientific Instrument Commission meeting in Neuchâtel on 7-11 September 2026: “Mathematical Instruments and Medieval Libraries: Manuscript Practices and Material Circulation”. Deadline 25 February and full details at hcommons.org/members/saje...

Monumental Roman Basilica Identified as Long-Lost Work by Vitruvius news.artnet.com/art-world/ro...

Monumental Roman Basilica Identified as Long-Lost Work by Vitruvius

A 2,000-year-old basilica has found in the center of Fano in Italy has been linked one of ancient Rome’s master builders, Vitruvius.

news.artnet.com

Unfolding the multiple lives of a shipbuilding manuscript: Our first Artefact of the Month in 2026 is known as 'Fragments of Ancient English Shipwrighty' and reveals the interactions between mathematics and practice in the Scientific Revolution: uhh.de/csmc-aom-35

First ever visit to the National Art Library www.vam.ac.uk/info/nationa... at the V&A Museum. Cheapskate tip: register in advance, pick up your reader card and only then go to the cloakroom to hand in your bag - now for free.

Timeline cleanse: #OTD 2016 at the British Library to view these extraordinary objects (other reader for scale). I first saw them in 1997 in the old BL MSS Room and finally published '"Preciseness and Pleasure": The Astrological Diptychs of Thomas Hood' in 2018 in doi.org/10.1163/9789...

The annotated husband and wife Rantzau tract! ❤️

Jason W. Dean@jasonwdean.com · 7mo ago

Today is Epiphany/Three Kings day, and to celebrate, @sibyllacumae.bsky.social and I just sent the newest issue of our newsletter, focusing On Astrology. Share, read, enjoy - it's free! 📜 #bookhistory #booksky #libsky #rarebooks #astronomy 🗃️🔭 #histSTM open.substack.com/pub/twohalfs...

I loved the image at first sight but couldn't immediately fathom how it was created. Now there is a wonderfully clear thread to explain the kit and process, with the bonus of a hi-res zoomable version at the end. Hmm, could I print out a large version to go on the wall? (Or a backlit transparency?!)

Cees Bassa@cbassa.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Since posting this 2025 year-long keogram, there have been quite a few questions asking how it was created and what is visible. In this thread I'll try to explain how it all works.

Happy new year! My all sky camera imaged the sky every 15 seconds and this picture shows what happened in the sky in 2025. It shows the length of the night and day with the hourglass shape, the monthly lunar cycle with the diagonal bands, the elevation of the Sun at local noon, and lots of clouds.

Just shared by Samuel Gessner @sgessner.bsky.social via the Rete mailing list: The great programme of the international conference “Beyond Books: Instruments and Knowledge in #Libraries”, 14–15 January 2026 at @mhngeneve.bsky.social. #histstm #histsci #medievalsky @stephenaj.bsky.social

The call for the 2026 Training Week: Global History of Astronomy on Primary Sources – A Focus on Cosmology, Physics and Astrology is now open! eida.hypotheses.org/seminars-2/2... June 8-12 2026 Bibliothèque nationale de France, Observatoire de Paris Deadline: 30/01/26 #historyofastralsciences

As the other external committee member with @eleonoraandriani.bsky.social I'm also hugely looking forward to the results of this doctoral project over the next few years - it will be genuinely fascinating to see the Escorial manuscript deeply investigated and fully unveiled.

Eleonora Andriani @eleonoraandriani.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Honoured to be part of the doctoral committee for this project at Hasselt University. Read more here: www.uhasselt.be/nl/over-uhas... #historyofastronomy #historyofscience

Strictly local #Oxford interest, but can't help blurting out #Bodleian news. After at least 40 years of using the central library, and restricted to reading onsite, I've just collected a couple of books which I am about to walk out the door with. A loan, but feels like I'll be apprehended for theft!