from web site
On the tourist's sundial shown above, it is the inner ring. This ring is in some cases engraved with the months on one side and matching zodiac indications on the exterior; extremely comparable to an astrolabe. Others have actually been found to be etched with 2 twelve-hour time scales. Each twelve-hour scale is stretched over 180 degrees and numbered by hour with hashes every 20 minutes and smaller sized hashes every four minutes.
On these, the exterior of the ring is inscribed with the corresponding signs of the zodiac indications. The position of the sign indicates the date of the entry of the sun into this particular sign. The vernal equinox is marked at March 15 and the autumnal equinox is marked at September 10.
The declination ring is portable, and rotates on pivots embeded in the meridian ring. A fictional line connecting these pivots is parallel to the Earth's axis. The declination "ring" of the tourist's sundial above is not a ring at all, but an oval loop with a slider for setting the season.
It can be used to measure declination. This Site is also frequently marked with the zodiac signs and twenty-five stars, comparable to the astrolabe. References [edit]" Annulus Astronomicus". Recovered 2009-07-18. Sorgeloos, Claude (2001 ). " Un post-incunable retrouv: L'Usus annuli astronomici de Gemma Frisius, Louvain et Anvers, 1534" [A post-incunabula discovery: 'Using huge rings' by Gemma Frisius]
Leiden. 31 (4 ): 255264. doi:10. 1163/157006901X00155. ISSN 0014-9527. Recovered 2009-07-19. Wallis, Helen (1984 ). "England's Look for the Northern Passages in the Sixteenth and Early Seventeenth Centuries". Arctic. 37 (4 ): 453472. doi:10. 14430/arctic2228. JSTOR 40510308. May, William Edward, A History of Marine Navigation, G. T. Foulis & Co. Ltd., Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, 1973, Retrieved 2013-11-10 " Mid 18th Century Brass Huge ring dial.
" Astronomical dial; ring-dial; sundial British Museum". Archived from the original on 2013-11-12. Bibliography [modify]
What if you could wear the entire universe on your finger? Huge rings, also known as Gemma's rings, are an early astronomical instrument. The instrument consists of three rings, each representing the celestial equator, declination, and the meridian. Our rings are thoroughly hand-carved in sterling silver. When it closed, it stands for everlasting love, when it opened, it represents the entire world.