In this episode of the Wanderings Podcast we will explore an ancient astronomical device called The Astrolabe. The astrolabe was used for centuries for navigation and as a way to tell the time, before watches, satellites and phones were invented. Astrolabes are objects of great beauty and craftsmanship, and they were the perfect combination of astronomical knowledge, artistic expression and practical application for everyday life. If you are familiar with my work, astrolabes were the inspiration for my first ever fine art photograph and you can hear more about that on episode 10 of the podcast and on my vlog on youtube.
To talk about this object that connected the earth and the sky, my guest is Pierre Paquette, an amateur astronomer with over 30 years of experience. He is an Astronomy Ambassador with the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Editor of Astronomie-Québec magazine, and he works on a cool project with National Geographic ObservÉtoiles, the first-ever open-sky augmented-reality planetarium in the world, located close to Montreal. Paquette discovered his passion for ancient astronomical instruments in 2014, and since then has been making his own astrolabes.
Pierre Paquete, photographed by Michel St-Jean.
An astrolabe created by Pierre Paquete. Photo by Cédric Primeau.
SHOW NOTES
Pierre Paquette’s website: http://astronomie.quebec
National Geographic ObservÉtoiles: https://www.observetoiles.com/en
Aurora 360: https://aurora-360.ca
The Wanderings Podcast is a project by fine art and advertising photographer Pedro Bonatto, featuring interviews with artists, designers, scientists, filmmakers, authors and entrepreneurs who are creating inspiring work in a variety of fields. In informal conversations, Pedro explores topics that inspire his personal photography work, including history, mythology, science, music, fashion and world cultures.