One for Autumnal Equinox:
“Ignace Gaston Pardies created a series of six beautiful star and constellation maps in the late 17th century. All six map plates join together to make a unified view of the Heavens as seen from the Earth. Pardies, a French Jesuit and professor of mathematics in Paris, corresponded with leading scientists of his day, including Newton, Leibniz and Huygens. His background in classical literature and science is evident in the complex artistry and mathematical precision of the six star maps. Pardies’ use of a geocentric cartographic view of the stars was unusual for the time - most star charts and celestial globes used the God’s eye perspective - looking at the entire universe from outside it.
With Pardies’ maps we see the sky as it appears from earth. Pardies drew the maps on the gnomonic projection which visualized the universe as a six-sided cube instead of a globe. This method allows for accurate measurement by straight lines between any point on the map. He also showed the paths of many important comets from 1577 to 1682 moving through the constellations.” — David Rumsey Map Collection
(Source: davidrumsey.com)
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