Posts Tagged constellations
17th Century Constellations
Posted by Danielle in Art & Architecture on March 29, 2010
Credit for both images: U.S. Naval Observatory, Space Telescope Science Institute
These remarkable illustrations come from the 17th century Uranographicarum star atlas by Johannis Hevelius, made available here, free for non-commercial use by the U.S. Naval Observatory and the Space Telescope Science Institute. Interestingly: “Hevilius pictured the celestial sphere from the outside looking in, so the views posted here are mirror images of how they should appear against a starfield seen from the center of the celestial sphere. (In other words, you have to flip them.)”
Cygnus Skyscape
Credit & Copyright: Daniel Marquardt
Yesterday’s APOD just goes to show that black and white photography NEVER goes out of style. Gorgeous detail in this image!
In cosmic brush strokes of glowing hydrogen gas, this beautiful skyscape unfolds across the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy and the center of the northern constellation Cygnus the Swan. Recorded from a premier remote observatory site (ROSA) in southern France, the image spans about 6 degrees. Bright supergiant star Gamma Cygni near image center lies in the foreground of the complex gas and dust clouds and crowded star fields. Left of Gamma Cygni, shaped like two luminous wings divided by a long dark dust lane is IC 1318, whose popular name is understandably the Butterfly Nebula. The more compact, bright nebula at the lower right is NGC 6888, the Crescent Nebula. Some distance estimates for Gamma Cygni place it at around 750 light-years while estimates for IC 1318 and NGC 6888 range from 2,000 to 5,000 light-years.
Ancient Astronomy
Posted by Danielle in Perspectives on May 14, 2009
Astronomical observation goes back to the dawn of civilization, and digging around online yielded this neat interactive atlas of ancient astronomy — starts at continents and refines on down from there. Also, the Wikipedia entry on archaeoastronomy is pretty darned extensive, and covers a lot of different cultures and time periods. (Ancient civilizations are a fascination of mine, so the amount of pictures made me a little giddy.)
Archaeoastronomy can be applied to all cultures and all time periods. The meanings of the sky vary from culture to culture; nevertheless there are scientific methods which can be applied across cultures when examining ancient beliefs. It is perhaps the need to balance the social and scientific aspects of archaeoastronomy which led Clive Ruggles to describe it as: “…[A] field with academic work of high quality at one end but uncontrolled speculation bordering on lunacy at the other.”
As for me, I’m just going to oggle the Nebra skydisk:
Romance of the Heavens
Posted by Danielle in Advertising & Media on December 22, 2008
These beautiful cigarette cards are part of a set entitled “Romance of the Heavens”, issued in 1928 by Wills Cigarettes. (Top and bottom photos were issued in 1929 and have been redone to say “Romance of the Heavens” in the top corner, instead of “Wills Cigarettes”.) I’ve been unable to find larger scans of them (those shown were taken from auction scans, the parts that weren’t watermarked, anyway.)
One seller describes them: “These cards show drawings of the planets and stars; the backs describe how these were understood in the 1920s.” Fortunately an eBay Guide has the details:
Name Of Set: Romance of the Heavens
Manufacturer: WD and HO Wills
Issue Year: 1928
Card Number: 50
Card Titles: Haley’s Comet, One Theory of the Formation of the Moon, Neap Tides, Spring Tides, A Shower of Meteors, A Lunar Corona, Typical Lunar Craters, Lunar Craters, The Earth as Seen From the Moon, Earth Shine, Mock Moons, Phases of the Moon, Portion of the Moon’s Surface, The Dumb Bell Nebula, A Spiral Nebula, The Inner Planets, The Outher Planets, Jupiter, Two Views of Mars, An Imaginary Landscape of Mars, The Surface of Mercury-Imaginary, Saturn, Saturn’s Rings, Two Views of Saturn, The Dark Sid of Venus-and Imaginary View, The Sunlit Sid of Venus-and imaginary view, Cassiopeia and Pole Star, The Composition of a Star, The Evolution of a Star, Two Giant Stars, Leo, The Milky Way, Orion, The Pleiades, The Pole Star and the Plough, The Southern Cross, Variable Stars, The Aurora Australis, The Aurora Borealis, The Cause of Auroras, Solar Corona, Electrical Discharges from the Sun, An Eclipse, An Eclipse of the Sun Viewed from the Moon, The Midnight Sun, Shadows and Rainbows, Solar Prominences, Typical Sun Spot, and The Zodiacal Light.
Astro-philatelics, part 43
Posted by Danielle in Currency & Postage on December 10, 2008
Sometimes the images that strike me are the simple ones — it’s dramatic, I suppose. Could not help but post this beautiful stamp of the Southern Cross, issued by Argentina in 1997.
Night Sky Artwork
Posted by Danielle in Art & Architecture on July 14, 2008
A beautiful Etsy find that looks like the night sky, and changes depending on the light source. (It also glows in the dark.) Neat stuff!
Album Artwork: Retro Covers, Part 2
Posted by Danielle in Entertainment on January 18, 2008
Planisphere Watch
Posted by Danielle in Fashion & Accessories on January 24, 2007
This Planisphere Watch is enough reason to go out tonight with a telescope!
The Planisphere Watch displays the constellations visible in the Northern Hemisphere. Simply align the date and time (displayed on the edge of the bezel) and you can view the major constellations visible that evening.
This watch features a durable brass case, scratch resistant crystal dome lens, Japanese quartz movement and a “Super Luminescent” dial that glows for 2 to 3 hours (so you can easily read it in the dark without a flashlight or LED).
Astronomy Leather Wallets
Posted by Danielle in Fashion & Accessories on July 2, 2006
(Originally seen here.) Featuring punched leather and three colors, Hlaska describes this wallet as:
“A piece of the night sky in your pocket. The Big Dipper on the front. The Summer Cross on the back. Things are looking up.”
Edit — July 6, 2006 — I was fortunate enough to come into just enough spending money to pick up a wallet (in the above-shown midnight blue), and having received it yesterday afternoon, I have to say, it is definitely a work of quality. The color is to die for, the punched leather has a different-colored lining behind it, to set off the “stars”, the leather is quite fine, and the interior of the wallet is nice and roomy. I think I’m in love.
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About Silver Rockets
This blog celebrates space exploration, human spaceflight and the heavens, through lots and lots ofimages.
My name is Danielle Signor, and I am a space cadet.
This is a blog, NOT A SHOP. Click the images for their source or purchase link, if available.
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