Uranometria
The Uranometria is a celestial atlas published in 1603 , which was created by the German lawyer and astronomer Johann Bayer . It represents the first precise star map and for the first time contains the stars of both hemispheres . Since the telescope had not yet been invented, the atlas only contains stars that are visible to the naked eye .
In the Uranometria, Bayer introduced a system for designating stars with Greek and Latin letters, the Bayer designation still used today .
history
Attempts to draw star maps had been made before the 17th century, but they were imprecise due to a lack of reliable data.
Johann Bayer used several sources. The oldest was the Almagest of Ptolemy . He also had the records of the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe , who had determined precise stellar positions in the northern sky for years. Brahe's star catalog was first published in print form in 1602 , but handwritten copies were previously in circulation, one of which Bayer apparently owned.
Bayer also carried out its own observations. For the southern starry sky he used the notes of the Dutch navigator Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Pedro de Medina .
The first edition
The work was published in Augsburg in 1603 and was dedicated to the city council. This earned Bayer a respectable recognition of 150 guilders .
The full Latin title was Uranometria: omnium asterismorum continens schemata, nova methodo delineata, aereis laminis expressa. (Translated roughly: "Uranometria: Contains maps of all constellations , drawn using a new method, engraved in copper plates"). "Uranometria" means something like "sky measurement". The term refers to Urania , the muse of astronomy or the Greek word uranos (οὐρανός) as a name for the sky and the Greek metric for measurement.
The copper title shows an architectural motif with the full title in the middle. To the left and right of it are two statues of Atlas and Hercules . The respective signatures are Atlanti vetustiss. astronomer. magistro ("Atlas, the oldest teacher of astronomy") and Herculi vetustiss. astronomer. discipulo ("Hercules, the oldest student of astronomy"). Above are figures of Apollo , Diana and Eternity (a female figure with a crown of stars). Under the title there is an ibex and a view of Augsburg .
The Uranometria contains 51 star maps. The first 48 pages represent the classic constellations mentioned by Ptolemy. The 49th shows the sky of the southernmost latitudes with the twelve new constellations. The last two pages are planispheres of the north and south skies with the title Synopsis coeli superioris borea and Synopsis coeli inferioris austrina (roughly: "Overview of the northern and southern skies"). Each star map contains a graticule to determine the star positions.
The constellations according to Bayer
In addition to the 48 Ptolemaic constellations, Bayer took over twelve new constellations of the southern heaven from Keyser : Bird of Paradise , Toucan , Crane , Phoenix , Swordfish (originally goldfish), Flying Fish , Small Water Snake , Chameleon , Fly , Southern Triangle , Indus and Peacock . These constellations first appeared on a celestial globe by Petrus Plancius in 1598, some under different names .
Bayer had all constellations decorated with imaginative depictions of mythological figures and animals. The copper engravings were made by Alexander Mair . As a model he evidently served pictures by the Dutch artist Jacob de Gheyn , which appeared in 1600 in the work Syntagma Arateorum in Leiden . His model was in turn the Augsburg printer Erhard Ratdolt . Strangely enough - and contrary to traditional traditions - the figures are usually depicted with their backs to the viewer, which in the following period often led to confusion. B. the right or left shoulder star of Orion was mentioned. In 1575, however, the ancient atlas Farnese was found in Rome , showing the constellations in exactly the same way, with the back to the viewer. However, the depiction of the constellations on the Franese Atlas is “from the outside” in the usual view at the time, that is, there is no contradiction between this celestial globe and the traditional depictions when one speaks of right and left relative to the constellation figure.
The name Uranometria, supplemented by an astronomical epoch , now describes a printed star atlas used by amateur astronomers.
literature
- Winfried Berberich (editor): Uranometria by Johannes Bayer 1603, facsimile, Gerchsheim 2010. ISBN 978-3-934223-35-6
- Jürgen Hamel : The sky measurement of Johannes Bayer , accompanying book for Uranometria by Johann Bayer, Gerchsheim 2010. ISBN 978-3-934223-36-3 . Both volumes ISBN 978-3-934223-37-0
Individual evidence
- ↑ Details on the copper title can be found in Volker Remmert : Dedication, Declaration of the World and Legitimacy of Science: Cover Images and Their Functions in the Scientific Revolution. Volume 110 of Wolfenbütteler Forschungen , Harrassowitz Verlag, 2005; engl. and expands Picturing the Scientific Revolution. Title Engravings in Early Modern Scientific Publications. St. Jospeph's University Press, Philadelphia 2011, pp. 127-130
- ↑ See Wilhelm Schmidt: Alexander Mair . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 20, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1884, p. 112 f.
