Editing Armillary sphere (section)

==History==
===China===
[[File:Ancient Beijing observatory 10.jpg|upright=1.2|thumb|Armillary sphere at [[Beijing Ancient Observatory]], replica of an original from the [[Ming dynasty]]]]
[[File:性命圭旨 周天璇璣圖.png|thumb|Armillary Sphere 周天璇璣圖, 1615 ''[[Xingming guizhi]]'']]

Throughout [[China|Chinese]] history, [[astronomer]]s have created '''celestial globes''' ({{zh|t=渾象|p=húnxiàng}}) to assist the observation of the stars. The Chinese also used the armillary sphere in aiding [[calendar|calendrical]] computations and calculations.

According to [[Joseph Needham]], the earliest development of the armillary sphere in [[China]] goes back to the astronomers [[Shi Shen]] and [[Gan De]] in the 4th century BC, as they were equipped with a primitive single-ring armillary instrument.<ref name="needham volume 3 343">Needham, Volume 3, 343.</ref> This would have allowed them to measure the north polar distance (declination) a measurement that gave the position in a ''xiu'' (right ascension).<ref name="needham volume 3 343"/> Needham's 4th century BC  dating, however, is rejected by British sinologist [[Christopher Cullen]], who traces the beginnings of these devices to the 1st century BC.<ref>Christopher Cullen, "Joseph Needham on Chinese Astronomy", ''Past and Present'', No. 87 (May, 1980), pp. 39–53 (45)</ref>

During the [[Western Han dynasty]] (202 BC{{snd}}9 AD) additional developments made by the astronomers [[Luoxia Hong]] (落下閎), Xiangyu Wangren, and Geng Shouchang (耿壽昌) advanced the use of the armillary in its early stage of evolution. In 52 BC, it was the astronomer Geng Shouchang who introduced the first permanently fixed equatorial ring of the armillary sphere.<ref name="needham volume 3 343"/> In the subsequent [[Eastern Han dynasty]] (23–220 AD) period, the astronomers Fu An and Jia Kui added the ecliptic ring by 84 AD.<ref name="needham volume 3 343"/> With the famous statesman, astronomer, and inventor [[Zhang Heng]] (張衡, 78–139 AD), the sphere was totally complete in 125 AD, with horizon and meridian rings.<ref name="needham volume 3 343"/> The world's first water-powered celestial globe was created by [[Zhang Heng]], who operated his armillary sphere by use of an inflow [[Water clock|clepsydra]] clock.

Subsequent developments were made after the Han dynasty that improved the use of the armillary sphere. In 323 AD the Chinese astronomer Kong Ting was able to reorganize the arrangement of rings on the armillary sphere so that the ecliptic ring could be pegged on to the equator at any point desired.<ref name="needham volume 3 343"/> The Chinese astronomer and mathematician [[Li Chunfeng]] (李淳風) of the [[Tang dynasty]] created one in 633 AD with three spherical layers to calibrate multiple aspects of astronomical observations, calling them 'nests' (chhung).<ref name="needham volume 3 343"/> He was also responsible for proposing a plan of having a sighting tube mounted ecliptically in order for the better observation of celestial latitudes. However, it was the Tang Chinese astronomer, mathematician, and monk [[Yi Xing]] in the next century who would accomplish this addition to the model of the armillary sphere.<ref name="needham volume 3 350">Needham, Volume 3, 350.</ref> Ecliptical mountings of this sort were found on the armillary instruments of Zhou Cong and Shu Yijian in 1050, as well as Shen Kuo's armillary sphere of the later 11th century, but after that point they were no longer employed on Chinese armillary instruments until the arrival of the [[Europeans in Medieval China|European Jesuits]].

[[Image:ChineseCelestialGlobe.JPG|thumbnail|upright|Celestial globe from the [[Qing dynasty]]]]
In 723 AD, Yi Xing (一行) and government official Liang Ling-zan (梁令瓚) combined Zhang Heng's water powered celestial globe with an [[escapement]] device. With drums hit every quarter-hour and bells rung automatically every full hour, the device was also a [[striking clock]].<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 473–475.</ref> The famous [[clock tower]] that the Chinese polymath [[Su Song]] built by 1094 during the [[Song dynasty]] would employ Yi Xing's escapement with waterwheel scoops filled by clepsydra drip, and powered a crowning armillary sphere, a central celestial globe, and mechanically operated manikins that would exit mechanically opened doors of the clock tower at specific times to ring bells and gongs to announce the time, or to hold plaques announcing special times of the day. There was also the scientist and statesman [[Shen Kuo]] (1031–1095). Being the head official for the Bureau of Astronomy, Shen Kuo was an avid scholar of astronomy, and improved the designs of several astronomical instruments: the [[gnomon]], armillary sphere, clepsydra clock, and sighting tube fixed to observe the [[pole star]] indefinitely.<ref name="sivin III 17">Sivin, III, 17</ref> When Jamal al-Din of Bukhara was asked to set up an 'Islamic Astronomical Institution' in Khubilai Khan's new capital during the [[Yuan dynasty]], he commissioned a number of astronomical instruments, including an armillary sphere. It was noted that "Chinese astronomers had been building [them] since at least 1092".<ref>S. Frederick Starr, ''Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia's Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane''. Princeton University Press, 2013, p. 452.</ref>

===Indian Subcontinent ===
[[File:Armillary sphere.JPG|thumb|Armillary sphere at the [[Garh Palace, Kota]]]]
The armillary sphere was used for observation in India since early times, and finds mention in the works of [[Aryabhata|Āryabhata]] (476 CE).<ref name=Sarma08>Sarma (2008), ''Armillary Spheres in India''</ref> The ''Goladīpikā''—a detailed treatise dealing with globes and the armillary sphere was composed between 1380 and 1460 CE by [[Parameśvara]].<ref name=Sarma08/> On the subject of the usage of the armillary sphere in India, Ōhashi (2008) writes: "The Indian armillary sphere (''gola-yantra'') was based on equatorial coordinates, unlike the Greek armillary sphere, which was based on ecliptical coordinates, although the Indian armillary sphere also had an ecliptical hoop. Probably, the celestial coordinates of the junction stars of the lunar mansions were determined by the armillary sphere since the seventh century or so."<ref name=Ohashiast-inst>Ōhashi (2008), ''Astronomical Instruments in India''</ref>

=== Hellenistic world and ancient Rome ===
{{further|Planetarium|Antikythera mechanism}}
[[File:Wall painting - armillary sphere - Stabiae (villa di San Marco) - Stabia MAdSLdO 2535 - 02.jpg|thumb|Mythological figures within an armillary sphere in a fragmentary fresco from [[Stabiae]], mid-1st century AD]]
The [[Greek astronomy|Greek astronomer]] [[Hipparchus]] ({{Circa|190|120 BC}}) credited [[Eratosthenes]] (276{{snd}}194 BC) as the inventor of the armillary sphere.<ref>Williams, p. 131</ref><ref>Walter William Bryant: ''[https://archive.org/details/AHistoryOfAstronomy/page/n33/mode/2up A History of Astronomy]'', 1907, p. 18</ref><ref>John Ferguson: ''Callimachus'', 1980, {{ISBN|978-0-8057-6431-4}}, p. 18</ref><ref>Henry C. King: ''The History of the Telescope'', 2003, {{ISBN|978-0-486-43265-6}}, p. 7</ref><ref>Dirk L. Couprie, Robert Hahn, Gerard Naddaf: ''Anaximander in Context: New Studies in the Origins of Greek Philosophy'', 2003, {{ISBN|978-0-7914-5537-1}}, p. 179</ref> Names of this device in Greek include {{lang|grc|ἀστρολάβος}} ''astrolabos'' and {{lang|grc|κρικωτὴ σφαῖρα}} ''krikōtē sphaira'' "ringed sphere".<ref>{{LSJ|a)strola/bos|ἀστρολάβος}}, {{LSJ|krikwto/s|κρικωτή|ref}}.</ref> The English name of this device comes ultimately from the [[Latin]] ''armilla'' (circle, bracelet), since it has a skeleton made of graduated metal circles linking the [[celestial pole|pole]]s and representing the [[equator]], the [[ecliptic]], [[meridian (astronomy)|meridians]] and [[Circle of latitude|parallel]]s. Usually a ball representing the [[Earth]] or, later, the [[Sun]] is placed in its center. It is used to demonstrate the [[celestial mechanics|motion]] of the [[star]]s around the Earth. Before the advent of the European [[telescope]] in the 17th century, the armillary sphere was the prime instrument of all astronomers in determining celestial positions.

[[File:Ptolemy 1476 with armillary sphere model.jpg|thumb|left|upright|''[[Ptolemy]] with an armillary sphere model'', by [[Joos van Ghent]] and [[Pedro Berruguete]], 1476, [[Louvre]], Paris]]
In its simplest form, consisting of a ring fixed in the plane of the equator, the ''armilla'' is one of the most ancient of astronomical instruments. Slightly developed, it was crossed by another ring fixed in the plane of the meridian. The first was an equinoctial, the second a solstitial armilla. Shadows were used as indices of the sun's positions, in combinations with angular divisions. When several rings or circles were combined representing the great circles of the heavens, the instrument became an armillary sphere.<ref name="EB1911"/>

Armillary spheres were developed by the [[Hellenistic civilization|Hellenistic Greeks]] and were used as teaching tools already in the 3rd century BC. In larger and more precise forms they were also used as observational instruments. However, the fully developed armillary sphere with nine circles perhaps did not exist until the mid-2nd century AD, during the [[Roman Empire]].<ref name="encyclopedia britannica armillary sphere"/> Eratosthenes most probably used a solstitial armilla for measuring the [[obliquity]] of the ecliptic. Hipparchus probably used an armillary sphere of four rings.<ref name="encyclopedia britannica armillary sphere">Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. (16 November 2006). "[https://www.britannica.com/science/armillary-sphere Armillary Sphere]." ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''. Accessed 14 October 2017.</ref> The [[Greco-Roman world|Greco-Roman]] geographer and astronomer [[Ptolemy]] ({{Circa|100|170 AD}}) describes his instrument, the ''astrolabon'', in his ''[[Almagest]]''.<ref name="encyclopedia britannica armillary sphere"/> It consisted of at least three rings, with a graduated circle inside of which another could slide, carrying two small tubes positioned opposite each other and supported by a vertical plumb-line.<ref name="EB1911"/><ref name="encyclopedia britannica armillary sphere"/>

===Medieval Middle East and Europe===
[[File:Spherical astrolabe islamic march 2024.JPG|thumb|left|upright|The spherical [[astrolabe]] from medieval [[Islamic astronomy]], c. 1480, in the [[Museum of the History of Science, Oxford]]<ref name="LindbergShank2013">{{cite book|last1=Lindberg|first1=David C.|author-link1=David C. Lindberg|last2=Shank|first2=Michael H.|title=The Cambridge History of Science: Volume 2, Medieval Science|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZMNkAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT173|access-date=15 May 2018|date=7 October 2013|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-316-02547-5|page=173}}</ref>]]
[[Image:Sandro Botticelli 052.jpg|thumb|upright|An armillary sphere [[Saint Augustine in His Study (Botticelli, Ognissanti)|in a painting]] by [[Republic of Florence|Florentine]] Italian artist [[Sandro Botticelli]], c. 1480.]]
[[File:Représentation ottomane sphère armilaire - XVIe.jpg|thumb|upright|An [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] illustration of an armillary sphere, 16th century]]

[[Islamic astronomy|Persian and Arab astronomers]] such as [[Ibrahim al-Fazari]] and [[Abbas Ibn Firnas]] continued to build and improve on armillary spheres. The spherical astrolabe, a variation of both the [[astrolabe]] and the armillary sphere, was likely invented during the [[Middle Ages]] in the [[Islamic Golden Age|Middle East]].<ref>[[Emilie Savage-Smith]] (1993). "Book Reviews", ''Journal of Islamic Studies'' '''4''' (2), pp. 296–299. {{blockquote|"There is no evidence for the Hellenistic origin of the spherical astrolabe, but rather evidence so far available suggests that it may have been an early but distinctly Islamic development with no Greek antecedents."}}</ref> About 550 AD, Christian philosopher [[John Philoponus]] wrote a treatise on the astrolabe in Greek, which is the earliest extant treatise on the instrument.<ref>Modern editions of [[John Philoponus]]' treatise on the astrolabe are ''De usu astrolabii eiusque constructione libellus'' (On the Use and Construction of the Astrolabe), ed. Heinrich Hase, Bonn: E. Weber, 1839, {{OCLC|165707441}} (or id. Rheinisches Museum für Philologie 6 (1839): 127–71); repr. and translated into French by Alain Philippe Segonds, ''Jean Philopon, traité de l'astrolabe,'' Paris: Librairie Alain Brieux, 1981, {{OCLC|10467740}}; and translated into English by H.W. Green in R.T. Gunther, ''The Astrolabes of the World'', Vol. 1/2, Oxford, 1932, {{OL|18840299M}} repr. London: Holland Press, 1976, {{OL|14132393M }} pp. 61–81.</ref> The earliest description of the spherical astrolabe dates back to the Persian astronomer [[Al-Nayrizi|Nayrizi]] ([[floruit|fl.]] 892–902). [[Pope Sylvester II]] applied the use of sighting tubes with his armillary sphere in order to fix the position of the [[pole star]] and record measurements for the [[tropics]] and [[equator]], and used armillary spheres as a teaching device.<ref>Darlington, 679–670.</ref>

===Korea===
[[File:Korean celestial globe.jpg|thumb|left|Korean celestial globe]]
Chinese ideas of astronomy and astronomical instruments were introduced to Korea, where further advancements were also made. [[Jang Yeong-sil]], a [[Korean people|Korean]] inventor, was ordered by [[King Sejong the Great of Joseon]] to build an armillary sphere. The sphere, built in 1433 was named Honcheonui (혼천의,渾天儀).

The [[Honcheonsigye]], an armillary sphere activated by a working clock mechanism was built by the Korean astronomer Song Iyeong in 1669. It is the only remaining [[astronomical clock]] from the [[Joseon dynasty]]. The mechanism of the armillary sphere succeeded that of Sejong era's armillary sphere (Honŭi 渾儀, 1435) and celestial sphere (Honsang 渾象, 1435), and the Jade Clepsydra (Ongnu 玉漏, 1438)'s sun-carriage apparatus. Such mechanisms are similar to Ch'oe Yu-ji (崔攸之, 1603~1673)'s armillary sphere(1657). The structure of time going train and the mechanism of striking-release in the part of clock is influenced by the crown escapement which has been developed from 14th century, and is applied to gear system which had been improved until the middle of 17th century in Western-style clockwork. In particular, timing device of Song I-yŏng's Armillary Clock adopts the early 17th century pendulum clock system which could remarkably improve the accuracy of a clock.<ref>KIM Sang-Hyuk, [http://m.riss.kr/search/detail/DetailView.do?p_mat_type=be54d9b8bc7cdb09&control_no=3b48615694989343ffe0bdc3ef48d419 A study on the operation mechanism of song I-yong`s armillary clock], Ph.D dissertation, JoongAng University</ref>

[[File:Fotothek df tg 0005688 Astronomie ^ Vermessung ^ Messinstrument.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Tycho Brahe's zodiacal armillary sphere, from his ''Astronomiae Instauratae Mechanica'' (Wandesburg, 1598), p. 36.]]

===Renaissance===

Further advances in this instrument were made by Danish astronomer [[Tycho Brahe]] (1546–1601), who constructed three large armillary spheres which he used for highly precise measurements of the positions of the stars and planets. They were described in his ''Astronomiae Instauratae Mechanica''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sil.si.edu/DigitalCollections/HST/Brahe/brahe-introduction.htm#book |title=Astronomiæ instauratæ mechanica by Tycho Brahe: Introduction |first=Ronald |last=Brashear |work=Special Collections Department |publisher=Smithsonian Institution Libraries |date=May 1999 |access-date=July 11, 2020}}</ref>

Armillary spheres were among the first complex mechanical devices. Their development led to many improvements in techniques and design of all mechanical devices. [[Renaissance]] scientists and public figures often had their portraits painted showing them with one hand on an armillary sphere, which represented the zenith of [[wisdom]] and [[knowledge]].

The armillary sphere survives as useful for teaching, and may be described as a skeleton celestial globe, the series of rings representing the great circles of the heavens, and revolving on an axis within a horizon. With the earth as center such a sphere is known as Ptolemaic; with the sun as center, as Copernican.<ref name="EB1911"/>
<gallery>
File:Roger-bacon-statue.jpg|Sculpture of 13th-century English scientist [[Roger Bacon]] holding an armillary sphere, [[Oxford University Museum of Natural History]]
File:Jan Gossaert - Portrait of a Young Princess (possibly Dorothea of Denmark).jpg|Young girl with an astronomical instrument, by [[Jan Gossaert]], c. 1520-1540
File:Antoine Crespin.PNG|Portrait in the frontispiece of [[Antoine Crespin]]'s ''Propheties par l'astrologue du treschrestien Roy de France et de Madame la Duchesse de Savoye'', Lyon, France, 1572
Crespi L'Ingegno.jpg|''[[Ingenuity (Crespi)|Allegory of Ingenuity]]'' by [[Giuseppe Crespi]], c. 1695
File:Francesco de Mura - Allegory of Arts, c1750-1775 - Louvre.jpg|''Allegory of the Arts'', by [[Francesco de Mura]], c. 1750
</gallery>

A representation of an armillary sphere is present in the modern [[flag of Portugal]] and has been a national symbol since the reign of [[Manuel I of Portugal|Manuel I]].
[[Image:Genève - La sphère armillaire (1952).jpg|thumb|upright| The Armillary sphere in Geneva]]