made in England

Nocturnal (back)

A nocturnal shows the local time at night, by measuring the rotation of the constellations of the Great Bear and the Little Bear around the Pole Star. This example was made in England around 1760. The photograph shows the back of the instrument.

The back of the nocturnal has two concentric scales giving the corrections to the altitude of the Pole Star for use in finding latitude. These are used together with the long index arm.

This instrument was probably used mainly by navigators, and the skilled practitioner could expect to be accurate within 15 minutes. The instrument was introduced in the 16th century and remained popular until the mid 18th century.

Record details

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Online ID:	000-190-001-033-C
Image Rights Holder:	National Museums Scotland
Project:	0098: National Museums Scotland Project description \| View all records in project
Ref:	National Museums Scotland T.1944.3
Date:	Around 1760 c. 1760
Material:	Pear wood. Inscription: New stil [on arm]
Dimensions:	4.25" D (circle); 7.31" radius (arm)
What:	Nocturnal
Subject:	3. ASTRONOMY, Nocturnals (Departmental Classification)
Who:
Where:	England
Event:
Description:	Nocturnal in boxwood with "New stil" on arm, England, c. 1760
References:	For nocturnals in general, see Bennett, J.A., The Divided Circle: A history of instruments for astronomy, navigation and surveying. Oxford: 1987, pp 77-78
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