Time-tested mapmaking instruments

Although GPS and electronic equipment have supplanted traditional surveying and navigational equipment, masses of fundamental knowledge were collected through the use of these tools through many centuries.

The magnetic compass was perfected at the end of the 13th century and, paired with a card bearing cardinal directions, allowed for the development of nautical sailing charts and, in later years, terrestrial maps.

Telescopes were not invented by Galileo, but he was likely the first to use one for astronomical observations. Newton's telescope used mirrors ans reflected light. Now astronomers view a screen or photograph.

The astrolabe originated in the sixth century as a tool to tell time and observe the heavens. Mediaeval astrolabes helped calculate the position of the sun and stars with respect to the horizon and the meridian.

A sextant measures the angle between the horizon and a celestial bodies in order to determine latitude and longitude. Angle readings, paired with the extract time of day, are correlated with data in published tables.