Meh, big deal. The Antikythera mechanism is at least 1500 years older and far more advanced.
“Meh, big deal. The Antikythera mechanism is at least 1500 years older and far more advanced.”
But as far as anyone can tell, no such device was actually used, for any practical purpose, in antiquity. It was a toy, not a tool. Nor did the ancients have the other technologies to make a go of it beyond the pillars of Hercules, the ne plus ultra - nothing beyond this.
But astrolabes, and the techniques of using them, were standard issue by the late 15th century, and indeed these were further developed and their use taught at Henry the Navigators (1398-1460) R&D facility and college of navigation, at Sagres. This was a very impressive achievement for those days, a focused R&D program and a tech grad school.
And the Portuguese did use them, taking readings wherever they could, leading the way to a much more accurate picture of the world.