JUNTEN Astronomical Ring Men Women Armillary Sphere Ring for Couple Lovers Foldable Cosmic Finger Rings, Size 5-12

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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 An armillary sphere (variations are known as spherical astrolabe, armilla, or armil) is a model of objects in the sky (on the celestial sphere), consisting of a spherical framework of rings, centered on Earth or the Sun, that represent lines of celestial longitude and latitude and other astronomically important features, such as the ecliptic. As such, it differs from a celestial globe, which is a smooth sphere whose principal purpose is to map the constellations. It was invented separately, in ancient China possibly as early as the 4th century BC and ancient Greece during the 3rd century BC, with later uses in the Islamic world and Medieval Europe. Tropic of Capricorn: This small circle (also called the Southern Tropic) forms the southernmost latitude on earth at which the noontime sun can cross the zenith. This occurs around Dec 21 — and is called the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere. A corresponding circle, also called the Tropic of Capricorn, is formed by the projection of the earth’s Tropic of Capricorn onto the celestial sphere. In ancient times, the sun passed through the zodiacal constellation of Capricornus at this time of year — thus its name Capricorn. The word “tropic” derives from the Greek word meaning turn — referring to the point on the sky where the sun changes direction and begins moving north as summer approaches in the northern hemisphere. Today, while precession (the wobble of the earth on its axis) has shifted the winter solstice into the constellational of Sagittarius, the solstitial sun remains in the astrological sign of Capricorn, which is unaffected by precession. The Tropic of Capricorn is currently at latitude 23 o 26.2’ S (23.44° S). Like the obliquity, the latitude of the Tropic of Capricorn varies from22.1 o S and 24.5 o Sover about 41,000 years. The Tropic of Capricorn is moving north toward the equator at about 50 feet per year. 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.

Enter the fictional world of James Bond, and you’ll find a number of handy dandy spy rings including one that doubles as a camera, and another capable of shattering bulletproof glass with a single twist.In the end of the 15th century, the armillary sphere became the personal heraldic badge of the future King Manuel I of Portugal, when he was still a Prince. The intense use of this badge in documents, monuments, flags and other supports, during the reign of Manuel I, transformed the armillary sphere from a simple personal symbol to a national one that represented the Kingdom of Portugal and in particular its Overseas Empire. As a national symbol, the armillary sphere continued in use after the death of Manuel I. Zenith: in the horizon coordinate system, it is the position directly overhead on the celestial sphere. The zenith’s altitude is 90 o.

The instrument survived throughout the medieval period into the early modern era, and in many respects came to symbolise the queen of the sciences, astronomy. It wasn’t until the middle of the sixteenth-century that the basis of the instrument – a geocentric concept of the Universe – was seriously challenged by the Polish mathematician, Nicolaus Copernicus. Even then, the instrument still continued to serve a useful purpose as a purely mathematical instrument. 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. Antarctic Circle: This small circle forms the southernmost latitude on earth at which the center of the sun’s disk travels completely around the horizon for a full 24 hours on the December solstice (summer solstice in the Southern hemisphere). Currently the latitude of the Antarctic Circleis 66 o 33.8’ S. The latitude of the Antarctic Circlevaries from67.9 o S and 65.5 o Sover about 41,000 years. The Antarctic Circleis moving north toward the equator at about 50 feet per year. The metal rings, usually made of brass or bronze, are referred to as armilla, which is Latin for bracelet. Armilla were prestigious armbands awarded to Roman soldiers for distinguished gallantry. The British Museum has a collection of several armillary sphere rings that are incredibly well-crafted and detailed. When closed, they look like any other ring, but as the different bands are fanned out, the rings take on a unique quality. Built with anywhere between two to eight moving bands, these intricate pieces of jewelry would need to have been executed by skilled craftsmen.The nomenclature of an armillary sphere is based on the terminology of the following astronomical coordinate systems (see table below).

The sphere is mounted at the celestial poles that define the axis of rotation, and its structure includes an equatorial ring and, parallel to this, two smaller rings representing the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn to the north and south, respectively. Lindberg, David C.; Shank, Michael H. (7 October 2013). The Cambridge History of Science: Volume 2, Medieval Science. Cambridge University Press. p.173. ISBN 978-1-316-02547-5 . Retrieved 15 May 2018. This particular instrument is Italian, made in Rome in 1588, and is signed by Carlo Plato. It has a number of unusual features that make it rather special, such as the moon mounted on a separate ring within the sphere, and a number of stars represented by individual pointers.Kern, Ralf: Wissenschaftliche Instrumente in ihrer Zeit. Vom 15. – 19. Jahrhundert. Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König 2010, ISBN 978-3-86560-772-0 The equinoctial colure G, passing through the north and south poles of the heaven at N and S, and through the equinoctial points Aries and Libra, in the ecliptic.

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. [1] A beautiful object called an armillary sphere appears mysteriously in the gardens of the sisters’ home on Lake Geneva and plays a key role in The Seven Sisters series. Williams, Henry Smith (2004). A History Of Science. Whitefish, MT: Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 1-4191-0163-3. Savage-Smith, Emilie (1985), Islamicate Celestial Globes: Their History, Construction, and Use, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.

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Armillary sphere rings like the ones in the British Museum’s collection and the Swedish Historical Museum (top) serve a more benign purpose. Folded together, the two-part outer hoop and three interior hoops give the illusion of a simple gold band. Slipped off the wearer’s finger, they can fan out into a physical model of celestial longitude and latitude. The Symonds papers are held by Winterthur Museum in the USA. With the Symonds papers is an album of photographs labelled ‘Furniture Sandridgebury No 1’. Symonds wrote a ‘Portrait of a Collector’ about Percival Griffiths, in Country Life, June 13, 1952. R W Symonds’ book ‘English Furniture from Charles II to George II’ (1929) is illustrated with items from the Sandridgebury collection. In the foreword Griffiths writes of his experience and philosophy as a collector. See also 'Intuitively Collected', by Simon Houfe, Country Life 27 December 1990. The Greek astronomer Hipparchus ( c. 190– c. 120 BC) credited Eratosthenes (276–194 BC) as the inventor of the armillary sphere. [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] Names of this device in Greek include ἀστρολάβος astrolabos and κρικωτὴ σφαῖρα krikōtē sphaira "ringed sphere". [16] 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 poles and representing the equator, the ecliptic, meridians and parallels. Usually a ball representing the Earth or, later, the Sun is placed in its center. It is used to demonstrate the motion of the stars 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. And so, by this construction, the machine is equally fitted to show either the real motion of the earth, or the apparent motion of the heavens.