Tag Archives: Astronomy

1435: The Liberal Arts

Posted on November 16, 2017 by corvusfugit

Giovanni dal Ponte- The Seven Liberal Arts (c. 1435) (source) Each allegorical figure is accompanied by a historical luminary who also represents the discipline: From left to right: 1) Grammar with Donatus (4th century) or Priscian (5th and 6th centuries), … Continue reading →

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1806: Darkness at Noon

Posted on November 7, 2017 by corvusfugit

Title page and figures from Darkness at Noon; or, The Great Solar Eclipse of the 18th of June, 1806; “by an inhabitant of Boston.” Darkness at the break of noon Shadows even the silver spoon The handmade blade, the child’s … Continue reading →

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2006: Poor Pluto

Posted on October 4, 2017 by corvusfugit

Since Pluto’s orbital period around the Sun—its “year”—is about 248 years, it had not even managed one trip around the sun in the 76 years between its discovery as the ninth planet in 1930 and its infamous reclassification as a … Continue reading →

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1481: Astrolabe

Posted on September 7, 2017 by corvusfugit

The only surviving spherical astrolabe was purchased at auction in 1962 by the Oxford Museum of the History of Science. It is signed by its maker, Mūsa (the Arabic equivalent of Moses), who is otherwise unknown—but the particular style of  … Continue reading →

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1996: Europa

Posted on August 26, 2017 by corvusfugit

Europa: September 7, 1996. Europa is the smallest of Jupiter’s moons. The bright crater on the bottom right is named Pwyll, after Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed, a mythical Welsh king whose tale is told in the Mabinogion. One day, while … Continue reading →

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1842: Viennese

Posted on August 22, 2017 by corvusfugit

Rudolf von Alt: Solar Eclipse, Vienna (1842)

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1921: New Planet

Posted on August 21, 2017 by corvusfugit

Konstantin Yuon: Новая планета [New Planet] (1921)

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1561: Something Else

Posted on August 21, 2017 by corvusfugit

In the morning of April 14, 1561, at daybreak, between 4 and 5 a.m., a dreadful apparition occurred on the sun, and then this was seen in Nuremberg in the city, before the gates and in the country – by … Continue reading →

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1854: Eclipse

Posted on August 21, 2017 by corvusfugit

William and Frederick Langenheim: Eclipse of the Sun (1854) On May 26, 1854, William and Frederick Langenheim took the first photographs of a total eclipse of the sun visible in North America. (Other photographers did take pictures, but the Langenheims’ … Continue reading →

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1733: Vision / Eclipse

Posted on August 21, 2017 by corvusfugit

  Cosmas Damian Asam: Vision of St. Benedict (1735) “The canvas shows an elderly saint who, confronted by a solar eclipse, seems to experience a seizure—as well as enlightenment—at the moment when light erupts from the celestial sphere, as described … Continue reading →

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