Celestial navigational globe

Pointer from a celestial navigational globe. Astronomical details on the sphere are almost exactly the same as Cary, GLB0050. The only exception is that the present copy is complete with the key, the red and blue pencils and only one movable cursor is preserved.

Only the brightest stars are plotted for a limited number of constellations. There are neither constellation figures nor contours of their areas. Above the title inscription there is a labelled magnitude table in a rectangular cartouche. Some stars are marked by their Bayer notation. A total of 29 stars and one star group are named. There are the names of only 27 Ptolemaic constellations and three of the non-Ptolemaic constellations. One of the constellations of Hevelius is also named.

Commander May, after an active Royal Naval career, was an authority on the history of navigation and Deputy Director of the National Maritime Museum, London from 1953 until he retired in 1968. For other star finders, see Barker, Heath, Hughes, de Magnac and Schotte. For full details about the cartography and construction of this globe please refer to the related publication.

Object Details

ID: GLB0189.4
Type: Pointer
Display location: Not on display
Creator: Cary & Co.
Date made: circa 1925
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London
Measurements: Overall: 3 mm x 14 mm x 15 mm
Parts: Celestial navigational globe (Navigational globe)