Nocturlabium to read the time at night, replica | Hemisferium

What time is it when you are outside in the middle of the night without a clock? With a nocturlabium, people used to determine that by the stars. With this Hemisferium nocturlabium replica, you set the date, look through the opening in the center toward the Pole Star, and turn the hand until it runs along certain stars of the Big Dipper or Little Dipper. Then you read off the time on the dial.

You can really try it out on a clear night. If you still can't find the Pole Star, then the a planisfer for 52 degrees north latitude to look for the Great Bear and the Polar Bear.

Just like a sundial, you can read the local time from it, and that differs from the time on your clock, especially during daylight saving time. If you want to see more than with the naked eye afterwards, check out our binoculars for the starry sky.

Anyone who wants to follow the tides also looks at the nocturlabium with tide calendar.