First ever Heritage Flame lit at Stoke Mandeville in a historic moment for Paralympic Movement". www.paralympic.org. 3 January 2014.

armillary sphere, early astronomical device for representing the great circles of the heavens, including in the most elaborate instruments the horizon, meridian, Equator, tropics, polar circles, and an ecliptic hoop. The sphere is a skeleton celestial globe, with circles divided into degrees for angular measurement. In the 17th and 18th centuries such models—either suspended, rested on a stand, or affixed to a handle—were used to show the difference between the Ptolemaic theory of a central Earth and the Copernican theory of a central Sun. I think what’s most interesting (to me anyway) about these rings is the fact that they were, for some, important tools to grasp advanced concepts of astronomy, but for others, they were almost a way to brag about their own accomplishments. I mean, being an astronomer several centuries ago surely took plenty of work and a whole lot of learning (as is still true today), but scientists aren’t typically known for being braggadocious. a b Savage-Smith, Emilie (2017). "Of Making Celestial Globes There Seems No End" (PDF). Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society. No. 132: 1–9. The Arctic Circle E, and the Antarctic Circle F, each 23 1⁄ 2 degrees from its respective pole at N and S.

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It wasn’t until the middle of the 1500s CE that the basis of the instrument – a geocentric concept of the Universe – was seriously challenged by the Polish mathematician Nicolaus Copernicus. Even then, the instrument still continued to serve a useful purpose as a purely mathematical instrument. How does an armillary sphere work? In the end of the 15th century, the armillary sphere became the personal heraldic badge of the future King Manuel I of Portugal, when he was still a Prince. The intense use of this badge in documents, monuments, flags and other supports, during the reign of Manuel I, transformed the armillary sphere from a simple personal symbol to a national one that represented the Kingdom of Portugal and in particular its Overseas Empire. As a national symbol, the armillary sphere continued in use after the death of Manuel I. Arctic Circle: This small circle forms the northernmost latitude on earth at which the center of the sun’s disk travels completely around the horizon for a full 24 hours on the June solstice (summer solstice in the Northern hemisphere). Currently the latitude of the Arctic Circleis 66 o 33.8’ N.The latitude of the Arctic Circlevaries from67.9 o N and 65.5 o Nover about 41,000 years. The Arctic Circleis moving south toward the equator at about 50 feet per year. Art historian Jessica Stewart writes that in the 17th century, rings such as the above specimen were “used by astronomers to study and make calculations. These pieces of jewelry were considered tokens of knowledge. Inscriptions or zodiac symbols were often used as decorative elements on the bands.”

Brashear, Ronald (May 1999). "Astronomiæ instauratæ mechanica by Tycho Brahe: Introduction". Special Collections Department. Smithsonian Institution Libraries . Retrieved July 11, 2020. Enter the fictional world of James Bond, and you’ll find a number of handy dandy spy rings including one that doubles as a camera, and another capable of shattering bulletproof glass with a single twist.This example was probably made as a decorative item of furniture for a Library as the engraved brass circles have no practical service for scientific purposes. The armillary sphere was reintroduced in the national arms and in the national Flag of Portugal in 1911. At the centre of the sphere is the Earth. As the Earth is stationary in this model, it is the celestial sphere which rotates about it and acts as a reference system for locating the celestial bodies – stars, in particular – from a geocentric perspective.

The tropic of Cancer C, touching the ecliptic at the beginning of Cancer in e, and the tropic of Capricorn D, touching the ecliptic at the beginning of Capricorn in f; each 23 1⁄ 2 degrees from the equinoctial circle. An armillary sphere such as this one might well have been used for education, aiding understanding of the 3-dimensional geometry of the celestial sphere. This makes sense, as many medieval and early-modern texts in basic astronomy refer to or assume the use of armillaries as models of the heavens. Medieval illustrations even suggest that a 3-dimensional visual aid might well have been a necessary companion to texts on the celestial sphere, such as the 13th-century De sphaera by Sacrobosco, which was a widely used university textbook.Each of the signs of the zodiac is engraved upon the ecliptic ring which is also calibrated with a calendar scale enabling the instrument to be used to model the apparent motion of the sun and the stars at any time of the year. The instrument could be used not only to model the movements and relative geometry of the heavens, but to carry out all sorts of calculations such as the times of sunrise and sunset, the length of a day, and the altitude of the sun or stars. In Renaissance Europe, the armillary sphere was amongst the first complex mechanical devices. Public figures often had their portraits painted showing them with one hand on an armillary sphere which represented the height of wisdom and knowledge. Zodiac: a band 18 o wide that is centered on the ecliptic. The zodiac comes from the Greek word for "circle of animals" that form the various constellation of stars in the eclilptic. The constellation of animals aries (the ram), taurus (the bull), cancer (the crab), leo (the lion), scorpius (the scorpion), and capricornus (the capricorn) were named at least a thousand years before by Babylonian and Chaldean astronomers. Since Roman times we also have constellation of libra (scales) and the representation of people in the form of aquarius (the water carrier), gemini (the twins), virgo (the virgin), and sagittarius (the archer). Kern, Ralf: Wissenschaftliche Instrumente in ihrer Zeit. Vom 15. – 19. Jahrhundert. Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König 2010, ISBN 978-3-86560-772-0 While there is a good deal of evidence suggesting that ancient and medieval armillary spheres existed, much of it is not straightforward. Medieval texts often refer to instruments that could be either armillary spheres or celestial globes. Texts that specifically mention the construction and use of armillary spheres seem to be less common than those that deal with other astronomical instruments. Spheres and globes

The Sphere was not included in the photographic inventory of Griffiths' collection in 1930 so may have been acquired after that date. Its earlier provenance is unknown. Antarctic Circle: This small circle forms the southernmost latitude on earth at which the center of the sun’s disk travels completely around the horizon for a full 24 hours on the December solstice (summer solstice in the Southern hemisphere). Currently the latitude of the Antarctic Circleis 66 o 33.8’ S. The latitude of the Antarctic Circlevaries from67.9 o S and 65.5 o Sover about 41,000 years. The Antarctic Circleis moving north toward the equator at about 50 feet per year. The Greek astronomer Hipparchus ( c. 190– c. 120 BC) credited Eratosthenes (276–194 BC) as the inventor of the armillary sphere. [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] Names of this device in Greek include ἀστρολάβος astrolabos and κρικωτὴ σφαῖρα krikōtē sphaira "ringed sphere". [16] The English name of this device comes ultimately from the Latin armilla (circle, bracelet), since it has a skeleton made of graduated metal circles linking the poles and representing the equator, the ecliptic, meridians and parallels. Usually a ball representing the Earth or, later, the Sun is placed in its center. It is used to demonstrate the motion of the stars around the Earth. Before the advent of the European telescope in the 17th century, the armillary sphere was the prime instrument of all astronomers in determining celestial positions. A representation of an armillary sphere is present in the modern flag of Portugal and has been a national symbol since the reign of Manuel I. The concept of the celestial sphere was fundamental to astronomy from Antiquity through the Middle Ages and into the early Modern era.Armillary spheres existed in Greece and China as early as the 4 th Century BC. Mechanical versions were later introduced with moveable horizon rings and other features such as a positionable sun. As one of the first planetarium devices, the mechanical armillary sphere was used both for astronomical observations and teaching purposes. The armillary sphere survives as useful for teaching, and may be described as a skeleton celestial globe, the series of rings representing the great circles of the heavens, and revolving on an axis within a horizon. With the earth as center such a sphere is known as Ptolemaic; with the sun as center, as Copernican. [1] Zenith: in the horizon coordinate system, it is the position directly overhead on the celestial sphere. The zenith’s altitude is 90 o. Museum numbers W.34-1939 to W.37-1938, a centre table, tripod table, armillary sphere and gate-leg table, were bought for the Museum by the National Art Collections Fund from the estate of Percival Griffiths (1861-1937). The choice was left to the Museum. A mirror, W.39-1938 was also given by his widow, Mrs Percival Griffiths, in his memory. Percival Griffiths, who lived at Sandridgebury, Hertfordshire, formed a collection of English furniture dating from the late 17th and early 18th century under the guidance of R.W. Symonds, the furniture historian and prolific writer on English furniture. Since ancient times, astronomers around the world have used models of the sky to make calculations. With the advent of the armillary sphere, stargazers were given a physical model to better visualize the lines of celestial longitude and latitude. Created independently in ancient Greece and ancient China, these armillary spheres consisted of spherical rings centered on either the Earth or the Sun. During the 16th and 17th centuries, these astronomy tools were sized down to become fashionable finger rings that moved just like regular armillary spheres.