French ship Astrolabe (1811)

Career (France)
Namesake: French ship Astrolabe
Builder: Toulon shipyard
Launched: 1811
Christened: Coquille, 9 July 1814
Renamed: Astrolabe in 1826
Fate: Scrapped in 1851
General characteristics
Class and type: Fluyt
Displacement: 380 tonnes
Length: 31.57 m
Beam: 18.48 m
Draught: 4.25 m
Propulsion: Sail
Armour: timber

The Astrolabe was a horse barge converted to an exploration ship of the French Navy. She is famous for her travels with Jules Dumont d'Urville.

The name derives from an early navigational instrument, the astrolabe, a precursor to the sextant.

Legacy

The Astrolabe Subglacial Basin in Antarctica bears her name, as do the Astrolabe Glacier, the Astrolabe Needle, Astrolabe Island, Great Astrolabe Reef (off Kadavu island, Fiji) and Astrolabe Reef (New Zealand).

See also

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