MetaFilter posts tagged with constellations

Constellations of Words:Explore the Etymology and Symbolism of the Constellations

sidr — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:27:54 -0800

Constellations of Words : Explore the Etymology and Symbolism of the Constellations

Historic Celestial Atlas Illustrations

spock — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 10:32:06 -0800

In 1627, Schiller's Coelum Stellatum Christianum attempted to replace the mythical constellation figures with Christian figures. More from the Linda Hall Library Digital Services Unit. Art, illustration, and astronomy aficionados will appreciate the beauty of historic celestial atlas illustrations: Bayer's Uranometria 1603 (also the 1661 Edition), Flamsteed - Fortin Atlas Celeste - 1776 (text intro), Celestial Atlas by Alexander Jamieson. HubbleSource is cleaning up scans from one historic atlas and making them available in web and hi-res versions for use in non-commercial applications. (See also: David Rumsey Map Collection, and the exhibition Out of this World (index & T.O.C.), more Images, Artwork and Historical Objects at the US Naval Observatory. Note: Some of the links above have been posted previously.

See a nova in Scorpius

frecklefaerie — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 12:45:24 -0800

"A Naked-Eye Nova in Scorpius" - Scorpius, the constellation home to M4, has a nova visible to the naked eye. Skytonight.com has a cool javascript almanac for you to see when it will be most visible for where you live.

Antique Celestial Maps

Gator — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 18:40:30 -0800

The U.S. Naval Observatory Library features high-res scans of images from antique books dealing with astronomy and navigation. Wallpapers, ahoy!

pieoverdone, star hustler

pieoverdone — Sat, 29 Apr 2006 14:48:53 -0800

So I'm driving to Salina, KS in the middle of the night and I realize that in all that nothing, I can look out my windshield and I can see stars. Like, all the stars. And I think that it's a bummer that I don't know that much about what it is I'm looking at.

Star Atlases, Mercator Globes and Celestial Sundries

sciurus — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 06:44:40 -0800

Star Atlases, Mercator Globes and Celestial Sundries [more inside]

iconomy — Tue, 10 Sep 2002 17:31:24 -0800

Celestial Atlases are perhaps some of the most beautiful scientific books ever published, capturing the mystery and the grandeur of the heavens, and rife with beautiful and often intimidating interpretations of the constellations. Out Of This World has been my favorite website since the dawning of time, and one I go back to over and over again even though it never changes. The period from 1603 to 1801 produced the most beautiful star maps, and you don't have to know a thing about astronomy to appreciate how heavenly these are.