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An astrolabe is an angle-measuring device, vaguely similar to a sextant or an octant. Holding the astrolabe by a cord, one sights through a set of peepholes to observe a star, and you can then read the angle of elevation of the star above the horizon. It's not especially accurate, particularly not when on the pitching deck of a ship at sea.

Columbus would have used this device to measure the elevation of the north star Polaris above the horizon, giving him his latitude (at least, approximately...). In order to calculate longitude, one also needs an accurate clock, which Columbus did NOT have.

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