Product Description
From 1600 to 1800 a number of beautiful star atlases depicting the constellations according to ancient myths and tales were printed. In Europe, where the quality of celestial atlases was unmatched, classical Greek traditions prevailed and the constellations were given allegorical visual representations of heroes and heroines, real and imaginary animals, scientific instruments and artistic tools. These images were placed in celestial latitude and longitude coordinate systems that allowed the positions of the stars to be mapped in the sky and formed the backdrop for predictions of the location of the planets and other heavenly bodies throughout the year. These celestial atlases also contained diagrams of the solar system that reflected both contemporary and ancient cosmological systems, thus tracing the development of mans view of his place in the universe.
With the construction of the International Space Station, and with new plans for manned missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond, there is renewed interest in the heavens. An ever-increasing number of people are fascinated with the science of space and are becoming amateur astronomers. Antiquarian map societies are prospering, and celestial maps are now viewed as a specialty of map collecting. At the same time, the beauty and awe generated by the celestial void captures our imagination and delights our aesthetic sense.
This book traces the history of celestial cartography and relates this history to the changing ideas of mans place in the universe and to advances in map-making. Over 200 photographs from actual antiquarian celestial atlases and prints, 76 of which are in color, enrich the text, and a legend accompanies each illustration to explain its astronomical and cartographic features. Also included in the book are discussions of non-European celestial maps and chapters on early American influences and celestial map-collecting.
About the Author
Nick Kanas, M.D., is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco. He has been a member of the San Francisco Amateur Astronomers since 1978 and has collected and researched antiquarian celestial books, atlases, and prints for nearly 25 years. He is a member of several map collector societies and has lectured on the history of celestial cartography at scientific and non-scientific meetings of organizations such as the Sydney (Australia) Observatory, the 20thInternational Conference on the History of Cartography, and the California Map Society. He also has written articles on this subject for a number of journals and magazines, including Sky & Telescope, Mercury, Imago Mundi, Mercatorâs World, and the Journal of the International Map Collectorsâ Society. Professor Kanas has written over 160 professional articles and 3 books, including, with D. Manzey, Space Psychology and Psychiatry (Kluwer/Springer, 2003), which won the 2004 International Academy of Astronautics Life Science Book Award. He also won Honorable Mention in the 2006 Boeing/Griffith Observer Science Writing Contest for his astronomy article on "Sacrobosco's De Sphaera" (which was published in the astronomy magazine Griffith Observer, sponsored by the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles).
