Celestial table globe

Celestial table globe. It forms a pair with the anonymous terrestrial globe, GLB0162. Astronomical details on the sphere show the Milky Way and the Magellanic Clouds, which are labelled. There is no magnitude table but the stars are represented by two different symbols. There are 48 Ptolemaic constellations, with some errors, and four of the non Ptolemaic constellations are drawn. Eight of the southern constellations are drawn, as well as most of those of Plancius and three of Hevelius. However, not all the southern constellations are labelled.

Apart from copying errors, the mapping of this globe is identical to that of the celestial globe by Matthaeus Seutter of Augsburg, see GLB0112. The maker of these globes was probably German, and lived in the early 18th century. He was more of a craftsman than an astronomer as the mistakes show. The maker was unaware of Seutter's pair of globes as he uses differing sources. Since the Seutter globe was only well known in Germany and Central Europe, it also suggests a German provenance. The construction is the same as that for GLB0162, but without the traces of silver plate. For full details about the cartography and construction of this globe please refer to the related publication.

Object Details

ID: GLB0163
Collection: Astronomical and navigational instruments; Charts and maps
Type: Table globe
Display location: Not on display
Creator: Unknown; Petrus Plancius, Petrus
Date made: circa 1725
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Caird Collection
Measurements: Overall: 590 x 540 mm; Diameter of sphere: 360 mm