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Tycho Brahe ~ 1585
The instrument on the stamp is Tycho Brahe's
Great Equatorial Armillary. It was 3 meters in diameter. Built in
1585, it is an armillary sphere reduced to its bare essentials. It has
been estimated that it was accurate to 38.6 seconds of arc.
Ming Dynasty
Zhang Heng created the
first armillary sphere in 117
a.d. The armillary sphere on the stamp is a replica made in
1437 during the Ming Dynasty of an armillary made during the Song
Dynasty (960-1127).
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