Timeline of telescopes, observatories, and observing technology.
The earliest sundials known from the archaeological record are the obelisks from ancient Egyptian astronomy and Babylonian astronomy
Taosi Astronomical Observatory, Xiangfen County, Linfen City, Shanxi Province, China
Shadow clocks invented in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia
11th–7th century BCE, Zhou dynasty astronomical observatory (灵台) in today's Xian, China
Thirteen Towers solar observatory, Chankillo, Peru
Antikythera Mechanism, a geared astronomical computer that calculates lunar and solar eclipses, the position of the Sun and the Moon the lunar phase (age of the moon), has several lunisolar calendars, including the Olympic Games calendar. It is at the National Archaeological Museum, Athens, Greece.
220-206 BCE, Han dynasty astronomical observatory (灵台) in Chang'an and Luoyang. During East Han dynasty, astronomical observatory (灵台) built in Yanshi, Henan Province, China
220-150 BCE, Astrolabe invented by Apollonius of Perga
5th century – Observatory at Ujjain, India
5th century – Surya Siddhanta written in India
499 – Aryabhatiya written by Aryabhata
6th century – Various siddhantas compiled by Indian astronomers
c. 628 – Brahmasphutasiddhanta by Brahmagupta
632–647 – Cheomseongdae observatory is built in the reign of Queen Seondeok at Gyeongju, then the capital of Silla (present day South Korea)
618–1279 – Tang dynasty-Song dynasty, observatories built in Chang'an, Kaifeng, Hangzhou, China
700–77 – The first Zij treatise, Az-Zīj ‛alā Sinī al-‛Arab, written by Ibrahim al-Fazari and Muhammad al-Fazari
700–96 – Brass astrolabe constructed by Muhammad al-Fazari based on Hellenistic sources
c. 777 – Yaqūb ibn Tāriq wrote Az-Zij al-Mahlul min as-Sindhind li-Darajat Daraja based on Brahmagupta and Surya Siddhanta
9th century – quadrant invented by Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī in 9th century Baghdad and is used for astronomical calculations
800–33 – The first modern observatory research institute built in Baghdad, Iraq, by Arabic astronomers during time of Al-Mamun
800–50 – Zij al-Sindhind written by Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī (Algorismi)
825–35 – Al-Shammisiyyah observatory by Habash al-Hasib al-Marwazi in Baghdad, Iraq
869 – Mahodayapuram Observatory in Kerala, India, by Sankaranarayana
10th century – Large astrolabe of diameter 1.