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Exhibit 2001 Bayer
Bayer, Johannes, 1572-1625. Mair, Alexander, ca. 1559.
Ioannis Bayeri Rhainani I.C. vranometria : omnivm asterismorvm continens schemata, nova methodo delineata, aereis laminis expressa / Ioannis Bayeri.Vlmae : Sumptibus Iohannis Gorlini, 1661.
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"With the invention of printing, the production and dissemination of star charts entered a new era and flourished. The most conspicuous example of the pre-telescopic era is probably the Uranometria by Johannes Bayer, published in Augsburg in 1603, which on 41 large sheets contained charts of all northern and some southern constellations as tradition knew them in antiquity and the Middle Ages. As far as artistic beauty and splendor of engraving are concerned, Bayer's presentation probably remains unsurpassed. But few libraries and still fewer individuals can boast possession of this now rare book."
- Zdnek Kopal, Sky and Telescope, Nov. 1948.
The word Uranometria, meaning star atlas, comes from Urania, the Greek muse of astronomy.
This page shows Orion, the Hunter. How many other pictures of Orion can you find in this exhibit?
The Dudley Observatory