Blome Cosmography and Astrology 1686 Cornell CUL PJM 1013 02

Celestial cartography, uranography, astrography or star cartography is the aspect of

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

and branch of

cartography Cartography (; from , 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and , 'write') is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can ...

concerned with mapping

star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...

galaxies A galaxy is a system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, and dark matter bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Greek ' (), literally 'milky', a reference to the Milky Way galaxy that contains the Solar Sys ...

, and other

astronomical object An astronomical object, celestial object, stellar object or heavenly body is a naturally occurring physical entity, association, or structure that exists within the observable universe. In astronomy, the terms ''object'' and ''body'' are of ...

s on the

celestial sphere In astronomy and navigation, the celestial sphere is an abstract sphere that has an arbitrarily large radius and is concentric to Earth. All objects in the sky can be conceived as being projected upon the inner surface of the celestial sphere, ...

. Measuring the position and light of charted objects requires a variety of instruments and techniques. These techniques have developed from angle measurements with

quadrant Quadrant may refer to: Companies * Quadrant Cycle Company, 1899 manufacturers in Britain of the Quadrant motorcar * Quadrant (motorcycles), one of the earliest British motorcycle manufacturers, established in Birmingham in 1901 * Quadrant Privat ...

s and the unaided eye, through

sextant A sextant is a doubly reflecting navigation instrument that measures the angular distance between two visible objects. The primary use of a sextant is to measure the angle between an astronomical object and the horizon for the purposes of cel ...

s combined with lenses for light magnification, up to current methods which include computer-automated

space telescope A space telescope (also known as space observatory) is a telescope in outer space used to observe astronomical objects. Suggested by Lyman Spitzer in 1946, the first operational telescopes were the American Orbiting Astronomical Observatory, OAO ...

s. Uranographers have historically produced planetary position tables, star tables, and

star maps Star map is another name for a star chart, a map of the night sky. Star map(s) or starmap(s) may also refer to: * Maps of celebrity homes, often called star maps * Star Maps (film), ''Star Maps'' (film), a 1997 American drama * Star Maps (album), ...

for use by both

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

and professional astronomers. More recently, computerized star maps have been compiled, and automated positioning of

telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorption, or Reflection (physics), reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally, it was an optical instrument using len ...

s uses databases of stars and of other astronomical objects.

Etymology

The word "uranography" derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

"ουρανογραφια" (

Koine Greek Koine Greek (, ), also variously known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek, Septuagint Greek or New Testament Greek, was the koiné language, common supra-regional form of Greek language, Greek spoken and ...

''ουρανος'' "sky, heaven" + ''γραφειν'' "to write") through the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''"uranographia"''. In Renaissance times, ''Uranographia'' was used as the book title of various celestial atlases. During the 19th century, "uranography" was defined as the "description of the heavens". Elijah H. Burritt re-defined it as the "geography of the heavens". The German word for uranography is "''Uranographie''", the French is "''uranographie''" and the Italian is "''uranografia''".

Astrometry

Astrometry Astrometry is a branch of astronomy that involves precise measurements of the positions and movements of stars and other Astronomical object, celestial bodies. It provides the kinematics and physical origin of the Solar System and this galaxy, th ...

, the science of

spherical astronomy Spherical astronomy, or positional astronomy, is a branch of observational astronomy used to locate astronomical objects on the celestial sphere, as seen at a particular date, time, and location on Earth. It relies on the mathematical methods of ...

, is concerned with precise measurements of the location of celestial bodies in the celestial sphere and their kinematics relative to a reference frame on the celestial sphere. In principle, astrometry can involve such measurements of planets, stars, black holes and galaxies to any celestial body. Throughout human history, astrometry played a significant role in shaping our understanding of the structure of the visible sky, which accompanies the location of bodies in it, hence making it a fundamental tool to celestial cartography.

Star catalogues

A determining fact source for drawing star charts is naturally a star table. This is apparent when comparing the imaginative "star maps" of ''Poeticon Astronomicon'' – illustrations beside a narrative text from the antiquity – to the star maps of

Johann Bayer Johann Bayer (; 1572 – 7 March 1625) was a German lawyer and uranographer (celestial cartographer). He was born in Rain in 1572. In 1592, aged 20, he began his study of philosophy and law at the University of Ingolstadt, after which he ...

, based on precise star-position measurements from the ''

Rudolphine Tables The ''Rudolphine Tables'' () consist of a star catalogue and planetary tables published by Johannes Kepler in 1627, using observational data collected by Tycho Brahe (1546–1601). The tables are named in memory of Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emper ...

'' by

Tycho Brahe Tycho Brahe ( ; ; born Tyge Ottesen Brahe, ; 14 December 154624 October 1601), generally called Tycho for short, was a Danish astronomer of the Renaissance, known for his comprehensive and unprecedentedly accurate astronomical observations. He ...

Important historical star tables

* c:AD 150, ''

Almagest The ''Almagest'' ( ) is a 2nd-century Greek mathematics, mathematical and Greek astronomy, astronomical treatise on the apparent motions of the stars and planetary paths, written by Ptolemy, Claudius Ptolemy ( ) in Koine Greek. One of the most i ...

'' – contains the last known star table from antiquity, prepared by

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

, 1,028 stars. * c.964, ''

Book of the Fixed Stars ''The Book of Fixed Stars'' ( ', literally ''The Book of the Shapes of Stars'') is an astronomical text written by Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi (Azophi) around 964. Following the translation movement in the 9th century AD, the book was written in Arabi ...

'', Arabic version of the ''Almagest'' by

al-Sufi ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Ṣūfī (; 7 December 90325 May 986) was a Persian astronomer. His work '' '' ("''The Book of Fixed Stars''"), written in 964, included both textual descriptions and illustrations. The Persian polymath Al-Biruni wrote th ...

. * 1627, ''

'' – contains the first West Enlightenment star table, based on measurements of

, 1,005 stars. * 1690, ''

Prodromus Astronomiae ''Prodromus Astronomiae'' is a star catalog created by Johannes Hevelius and published posthumously by his wife and research aid Elisabeth Hevelius in 1690. The catalog consists of the location of 1,564 stars listed by constellation. It consist ...

'' – by

Johannes Hevelius Johannes Hevelius Some sources refer to Hevelius as Polish: * * * * * * * Some sources refer to Hevelius as German: * * * * *of the Royal Society * (in German also known as ''Hevel''; ; – 28 January 1687) was a councillor and mayor of Danz ...

for his ''Firmamentum Sobiescanum'', 1,564 stars. * 1729, ''Britannic Catalogue'' – by

John Flamsteed John Flamsteed (19 August 1646 – 31 December 1719) was an English astronomer and the first Astronomer Royal. His main achievements were the preparation of a 3,000-star catalogue, ''Catalogus Britannicus'', and a star atlas called '' Atlas ...

for his

Atlas Coelestis The ''Atlas Coelestis'' is a Star cartography, star atlas published posthumously in 1729, based on observations made by the Astronomer Royal, First Astronomer Royal, John Flamsteed. The ''Atlas'' – the largest that ever had been published and ...

, position of more than 3,000 stars by accuracy of 10". * 1903, ''

Bonner Durchmusterung In astronomy, Durchmusterung or Bonner Durchmusterung (BD) is an astrometric star catalogue of the whole sky, published by the Bonn Observatory in Germany from 1859 to 1863, with an extension published in Bonn in 1886. The name comes from ('run-t ...

'' – by

Friedrich Wilhelm Argelander Friedrich Wilhelm August Argelander (22 March 1799 – 17 February 1875) was a German astronomer. He is known for his determinations of stellar brightnesses, positions, and distances. Life and work Argelander was born in Memel in the Kingd ...

and collaborators, circa 460,000 stars.

Star atlases

Naked-eye

* 15th century BC – The ceiling of the tomb

TT71 Theban Tomb TT71 is located in the Theban Necropolis, on the west bank of the Nile, opposite to Luxor. It was the tomb chapel of Senenmut, who was the steward and architect of Hatshepsut. The chapel is located in the necropolis area around She ...

for the Egyptian architect and minister

Senenmut Senenmut (, sometimes spelled Senmut, Senemut, or Senmout) was an 18th Dynasty ancient Egyptian architect and government official. His name translates literally as "brother of mother". Family Senenmut was of low commoner birth, born to liter ...

, who served Queen

Hatshepsut Hatshepsut ( ; BC) was the sixth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, Egypt, ruling first as regent, then as queen regnant from until (Low Chronology) and the Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Thutmose II. She was Egypt's second c ...

, is adorned with a large and extensive star chart. * 1 CE ? ''

Poeticon astronomicon __NOTOC__ ''De astronomia'' (; ''Concerning Astronomy'') is a book of stories written in Latin, probably during the reign of Augustus ( 27 BC AD 14). Attributed to "Hyginus", the book's true author has been long debated. However, the art histor ...

'', allegedly by

Gaius Julius Hyginus Gaius Julius Hyginus (; 64 BC – AD 17) was a Latin author, a pupil of the scholar Alexander Polyhistor, and a freedman of Augustus, and reputed author of the '' Fabulae'' and the '' De astronomia'', although this is disputed. Life and works ...

* 1092 – ''Xin Yi Xiang Fa Yao'' (新儀象法要), by

Su Song Su Song (, 1020–1101), courtesy name Zirong (), was a Chinese polymathic scientist and statesman who lived during the Song dynasty (960–1279). He exceled in numerous fields including but not limited to mathematics, astronomy, cartography, ...

, a

horological Chronometry or horology () is the science studying the measurement of time and timekeeping. Chronometry enables the establishment of standard measurements of time, which have applications in a broad range of social and scientific areas. ''Hor ...

treatise which had the earliest existent

star map A star chart is a celestial map of the night sky with astronomical objects laid out on a grid system. They are used to identify and locate constellations, stars, nebulae, galaxies, and planets. They have been used for human navigation since tim ...

s in

printed Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and Printmaking, images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabon ...

form. Su Song's star maps also featured the corrected position of the

pole star A pole star is a visible star that is approximately aligned with the axis of rotation of an astronomical body; that is, a star whose apparent position is close to one of the celestial poles. On Earth, a pole star would lie directly overhead when ...

which had been deciphered due to the efforts of astronomical observations by Su's peer, the

polymath A polymath or polyhistor is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths often prefer a specific context in which to explain their knowledge, ...

scientist

Shen Kuo Shen Kuo (; 1031–1095) or Shen Gua, courtesy name Cunzhong (存中) and Art name#China, pseudonym Mengqi (now usually given as Mengxi) Weng (夢溪翁),Yao (2003), 544. was a Chinese polymath, scientist, and statesman of the Song dynasty (960� ...

. * 1515 – First European printed star charts published in

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

, Germany, engraved by

Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer ( , ;; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer or Duerer, was a German painter, Old master prin ...

. * 1603 – ''

Uranometria is a star atlas produced by Johann Bayer. It was published in Augsburg in 1603 by Christoph Mang (''Christophorus Mangus'') under the full title (from Latin: ''Uranometria, containing charts of all the constellations, drawn by a new method an ...

'', by

, the first western modern star map based on

's and

Johannes Kepler Johannes Kepler (27 December 1571 – 15 November 1630) was a German astronomer, mathematician, astrologer, Natural philosophy, natural philosopher and writer on music. He is a key figure in the 17th-century Scientific Revolution, best know ...

's ''

Tabulae Rudolphinae The ''Rudolphine Tables'' () consist of a star catalogue and planetary tables published by Johannes Kepler in 1627, using observational data collected by Tycho Brahe (1546–1601). The tables are named in memory of Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, ...

'' * 1627 –

Julius Schiller Julius Schiller (c. 1580 – 1627) was a lawyer from Augsburg who, like his fellow citizen and colleague Johann Bayer, published a star atlas in celestial cartography. In the year of his death, Schiller, with Bayer's assistance, published ...

published the star atlas ''

Coelum Stellatum Christianum The ''Coelum Stellatum Christianum'' is a star atlas published in 1627 by Julius Schiller ( 1580–1627), with the collaboration of Johann Bayer (1572–1625). In the treatise, which was published by Andreas Aperger at Augsburg during the same yea ...

'', which replaced pagan constellations with biblical and early Christian figures. * 1660 –

Jan Janssonius Johannes Janssonius (1588, in Arnhem – buried July 11, 1664, in Amsterdam) (born Jan Janszoon, in English also Jan Jansson) was a Dutch cartographer and publisher who lived and worked in Amsterdam in the 17th century. Biography Jansson ...

' 11th volume of ''Atlas Major'' (not to be confused with the similarly named and scoped ''

Atlas Maior The ''Atlas Maior'' is the final version of Joan Blaeu's atlas, published in Amsterdam between 1662 and 1672, in Latin (11 volumes), French (12 volumes), Dutch (9 volumes), German (10 volumes) and Spanish (10 volumes), containing 594 maps and ...

'') featured the ''

Harmonia Macrocosmica The ''Harmonia Macrocosmica'' is a star atlas written by Andreas Cellarius and published in 1660 by Johannes Janssonius. The first part of the atlas contains copper plate prints depicting the world systems of Claudius Ptolemy, Nicolaus Copernic ...

'' by

Andreas Cellarius Andreas Cellarius (–1665) was a Dutch–German cartographer and cosmographer best known for his 1660 '' Harmonia Macrocosmica'', a major star atlas. Life He was born in Neuhausen, and was educated in Heidelberg. The Protestant Cellarius ...

* 1693 – ''Firmamentum Sobiescanum sive Uranometria'', by

, a star map updated with many new star positions based on Hevelius's ''

'' (1690) – 1564 stars.

Telescopic

* 1729 ''

'' by

* 1801 ''Uranographia'' by

Johann Elert Bode Johann Elert Bode (; 19 January 1747 – 23 November 1826) was a German astronomer known for his reformulation and popularisation of the Titius–Bode law. Bode determined the orbit of Uranus and suggested the planet's name. Life and career B ...

* 1843 ''Uranometria Nova'' by

Photographic

* 1914 ''Franklin-Adams Charts'', by

John Franklin-Adams John Franklin-Adams (c. 1843 – 1912) was a British astronomer and stellar cartographer. The minor planets 982 Franklina and 1925 Franklin-Adams are named after him. References {{DEFAULTSORT:Franklin-Adams, John 19th-century British ast ...

, a very early photographic atlas. * ''The Falkau Atlas'' (Hans Vehrenberg). Stars to magnitude 13. * ''Atlas Stellarum'' (Hans Vehrenberg). Stars to magnitude 14. * ''True Visual Magnitude Photographic Star Atlas'' (Christos Papadopoulos). Stars to magnitude 13.5. * ''The Cambridge Photographic Star Atlas'', Axel Mellinger and Ronald Stoyan, 2011. Stars to magnitude 14, natural color, 1°/cm.

Modern

* ''Bright Star Atlas'' –

Wil Tirion Wil Tirion (19 February 1943 – 5 July 2024) was a Dutch uranographer (celestial cartographer). His work, which included star charts and atlases, was widely distributed and renowned by astronomers. Originally a graphic designer, Tirion beca ...

(stars to magnitude 6.5) * ''Cambridge Star Atlas'' –

(Stars to magnitude 6.5) * ''Norton's Star Atlas and Reference Handbook'' – Ed.

Ian Ridpath Ian William Ridpath (born 1 May 1947, in Ilford, Essex) is an English science writer and broadcaster best known as a popularizer of astronomy and a biographer of constellation history. As a UFO sceptic, he investigated and explained the Rendle ...

(stars to magnitude 6.5) * ''Stars & Planets Guide'' –

and

(stars to magnitude 6.0) * ''Cambridge Double Star Atlas'' – James Mullaney and

(stars to magnitude 7.5) * ''Cambridge Atlas of Herschel Objects'' – James Mullaney and

(stars to magnitude 7.5) * ''Pocket Sky Atlas'' – Roger Sinnott (stars to magnitude 7.5) * ''Deep Sky Reiseatlas'' – Michael Feiler, Philip Noack (Telrad Finder Charts – stars to magnitude 7.5) * ''Atlas Coeli Skalnate Pleso'' (Atlas of the Heavens) 1950.0 –

Antonín Bečvář Antonín Bečvář (; 10 June 1901 – 10 January 1965) was a Czechoslovak astronomer. Biography He was born and died in Stará Boleslav. Among his chief achievements is the foundation of the Skalnaté Pleso Observatory and the discovery of the ...

(stars to magnitude 7.75 and about 12,000 clusters, galaxies and nebulae) * ''SkyAtlas 2000.0'', second edition –

& Roger Sinnott (stars to magnitude 8.5) * 1987, ''Uranometria 2000.0 Deep Sky Atlas'' –

, Barry Rappaport, Will Remaklus (stars to magnitude 9.7; 11.5 in selected close-ups) * ''Herald-Bobroff AstroAtlas'' – David Herald & Peter Bobroff (stars to magnitude 9 in main charts, 14 in selected sections) * '' Millennium Star Atlas'' – Roger Sinnott, Michael Perryman (stars to magnitude 11) * ''Field Guide to the Stars and Planets'' – Jay M. Pasachoff,

charts (stars to magnitude 7.5) * ''SkyGX'' (still in preparation) – Christopher Watson (stars to magnitude 12) * ''The Great Atlas of the Sky'' – Piotr Brych (2,400,000 stars to magnitude 12, galaxies to magnitude 18). * ''

Interstellarum Deep Sky Atlas The ''Interstellarum Deep Sky Atlas'' (stylized as the ''interstellarum Deep Sky Atlas'') is a 2014 sky atlas published by German astronomers Ronald Stoyan and Stephan Schurig. The atlas has more than 2,000 deep-sky objects, including all deep-sk ...

'' (2014) – Ronald Stoyan and Stephan Schurig (stars to magnitude 9.5)

Computerized

100,000 Stars
* Cartes du Ciel *

Celestia Celestia is a real-time 3D astronomy software program that was created in 2001 by Chris Laurel. The program allows users to virtually travel through the universe and explore celestial objects that have been catalogued. Celestia also doubles as ...

Stars and Planets for Android

Stars and Planets for iOS

CyberSky

*

Google Sky Google Earth is a web mapping, web and computer program created by Google that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satelli ...

KStars KStars is a free and open-source planetarium program built using the KDE Frameworks. It is available for Linux, BSD, macOS, and Microsoft Windows. A light version of KStars is available for Android devices. It provides an accurate graphical repre ...

Stellarium A stellarium is a three-dimensional map of the stars, typically centered on Earth. They are common fixtures at planetarium A planetarium (: planetariums or planetaria) is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertainin ...

SKY-MAP.ORG Sky-Map.org (or WikiSky.org) is a wiki and interactive sky map that covers over half a billion known celestial bodies. WikiSky is designed, in part, as a wiki. Users can edit information about different stars by writing articles, adding Internet ...

SkyMap Online
* WorldWide Telescope *

XEphem XEphem is a Motif based ephemeris and planetarium program for Unix-like operating systems developed by Elwood C. Downey. History XEphem started as a Unix and Motif conversion of the IBM PC-based '. It was initially released in December 1993 with ...

, for Unix-like systems * Stellarmap.com – online map of the stars *

Star Walk ''Star Walk'' is an educational astronomy smartphone app developed by Vito Technology which allows users to explore celestial objects in real-time. The application was released in 2009 and is compatible with iOS, Android, and Windows devices. '' ...

and

Kepler Explorer OpenLab Johannes Kepler (27 December 1571 – 15 November 1630) was a German astronomer, mathematician, astrologer, natural philosopher and writer on music. He is a key figure in the 17th-century Scientific Revolution, best known for his laws of p ...

: 2 celestial cartography apps for smartphones *

SpaceEngine SpaceEngine is an interactive 3D planetarium and astronomy software initially developed by Russian astronomer and programmer Vladimir Romanyuk. Development is now continued by Cosmographic Software, an American company founded by Romanyuk and th ...

Free and printable from files

The TriAtlas Project

Andrew Johnson mag 7

References

External links

Star Maps
from Ian Ridpath's ''Star Tales'' website.
The Mag-7 Star Atlas Project

an extensive collection of 51 star maps and other astronomy related books stored as a multitude of images.
Monthly star maps for every location on Earth

Easy to use monthly star maps for northern and southern hemispheres. Helpful target lists for naked eye, binocular, or telescope viewing.

Collection of rare star atlases, charts, and maps
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180325232350/http://contentdm.lindahall.org/cdm4/browse.php?CISOROOT=%2Fstar_atlas , date=2018-03-25 available in full digital facsimile at

Linda Hall Library The Linda Hall Library is a privately endowed American library of science, engineering and technology located in Kansas City, Missouri, on the grounds of a urban arboretum. It claims to be the "largest independently funded public library of sc ...

.
Navigable online map of the stars
Stellarmap.com. * The Digital Collections of the

include: *
"Astronomy: Star Atlases, Charts, and Maps"
a collection of more than 60 star atlas volumes. *
"Astronomy: Selected Images
a collection of high-resolution star map images. *
"History of Cosmology: Views of the Stars"
high-resolution scans of prints relating to the study of the structure of the cosmos. * * Works about astronomy el:Άτλας Ουρανού

Etymology

Astrometry

Star catalogues

Important historical star tables

Star atlases

Naked-eye

Telescopic

Photographic

Modern

Computerized

Free and printable from files

See also

References

External links