How did the astrolabe change the course of human history?

Question: How did the astrolabe change the course of human history!?

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Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

The astrolabe and devices similar to it allowed people to know about what latitude they were sailing on!. This means they could sail safely beyond the sight of land with a compass and astrolabe to correct northern or southern mistakes!.
Forms of an astrolabe were used hundreds of years before Portuguese and Spanish explorers would discover how to navigate with real confidence using maps, compasses and astrolabes!.
They wouldn't be able to know what longitude they were at until a clock that worked accurately on a ship was designed!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Astrolabes were the beginning of cosmology and were navigation aids, allowing explorers such as the ancient Greeks to strike out to the West, across the Mediterranean and into Atlantic Ocean to find new sources of mineral and agricultural wealth!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Navigation - 10 points, please!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com