Virgo. Image source: Bode, Johann Elert. Uranographia. Berlin, 1801, pl. 14.

Out of This World

The Golden Age of the Celestial Atlas

Lacaille, Nicolas. "Planisphere contenant les Constellations Celestes", in: Memoires Academie Royale des Sciences pour 1752. Paris, 1756.

In 1751 the French astronomer Lacaille went to South Africa and recorded the positions of over nine thousand stars, and he completey refurbished the format of the southern skies. He added fourteen new constellations, and divided up Argo into three smaller ones, which means that we owe seventeen of our modern constellations to Lacaille. He announced his new constellations in a chart of the southern skies, first published here, in the Memoires of the French Academy of Science. 

A detail of the Southern constellations, showing Horologium, Octans, and others. Image source: La Caille, Nicolas. "Table des Ascensions Droites..."Memoires de l'Academie Royale des Sciences, 1752. Paris, 1756. 

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The complete map (above), also shows: les Burins (Caelum), Fourneau (Fornax), l'Octans Reflexion (Octans), and le Telescope (Telescopium). In this detail (below left) of the map, we can see l'Horologe (Horologium), Montagne de la Table (Mensa), le Reticule (Reticulum), and le Cheval et l'Palette (Pictor). It is interesting to compare a detail from Lacaille with the corresponding section from Bayer's Uranometria, which contained the original map of the southern skies (below right).

A section of the southern stars. Image source: La Caille, Nicolas. "Table des Ascensions Droites..."Memoires de l'Academie Royale des Sciences, 1752. Paris, 1756. 

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Southern Stars. Image source: Bayer, Johannes. Uranometria. Augsburg: Excudit Christophorus Mangus, 1603.

Southern Stars. Image source: Bayer, Johannes. Uranometria. Augsburg: Excudit Christophorus Mangus, 1603.

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