Spole studied mainly at the german Greifswald University, where he received his degree, also including military arts and navigation. He made his "grand tour", around Europe, in the years 1664-1667 where he met such men as Huygens, Hooke, Boyle, Mercator, Boullieau, Cassini and Riccioli.
He was called as professor in astronomy when Lund University was founded and later became professor at Uppsala University in 1679.

He was a succesful teacher, he also published his own text-books, and presided at around 50 disputations. Spole was a competent instrument maker and built an observatory on the top of his house in the centre of Uppsala which, however, was completely destroyed together with his instruments and papers in the great city fire of 1702. He observed the great comet of 1680, where he could observe dust lanes in the tail, and sunspots, which he regarded as the origins of comets. He also made many geographical observations for the Swedish General Map.