About Astrolabe
A brief history of Astrolabe
Founded in 1979 as Astro-Graphics Services, Astrolabe’s founders were Robert Hand, Arthur Blackwell, Steve Blake, Gary Christen and Patricia White. Early programs served TRS-80 and Apple II computers, followed by CP/M, Commodore, Macintosh and IBM-compatible systems.
Software history
1980: Astro-Scope introduced horoscope-reading software for microcomputers, followed by calculation and interpretation programs.
1984: Nova became the foundation of an interconnected software system. Astrolabe also distributed Mark Pottenger’s CCRS research program.
1989: Bill Meridian and Robert Hand’s AstroAnalyst explored astronomical cycles and financial markets.
1992: Printwheels DTP brought chart graphics into desktop publishing.
1993: Astrolabe became Solar Fire’s worldwide publisher following its Australian release in 1992.
2014: Astrolabe acquired Solar Fire’s rights.
Other projects
Projects include chart-calculation services, Valliere’s Natural Cycles Almanac, Liz Greene’s Astro*Intelligence reports, Jim Maynard’s calendar calculations, American Express Stardate pendants and the ACS PC Atlas, acquired in 2008.
Publishing work includes heliocentric, sidereal and century ephemerides, asteroid calculations, Bruce Scofield’s electional-astrology book, symbol sheets, dials and graphic-ephemeris pads.
Non-commercial activities
Astrolabe hosted classes, lectures and Cape Cod NCGR study groups. Its 1980s Master Classes covered astronomy, specialist techniques, harmonics, astrology’s history and social-science research.