Astrolabes are magnificent combinations of science and art. First used in the 13th century, these pieces of engineering were used primarily to tell the time. One would pick a star in the night sky, align their instrument with the particular star's location in the night sky, calibrate the astrolabe with the time of year, and then find the star on the tool and the time would be able to be found. Astrolabes started out very simple looking but over time they became very artistic and were an amazing combination of the arts and sciences. Chaucer wrote the first treatise on how to use an astrolabe. Tom Wujec hosted a TED Talks describing how to use an astrolabe and explaining the uses of it. It can be found by clicking here.