Eighteenth and 19th century technologies transformed the way in which the night sky was observed and led to the discovery of celestial wonders, from stars, galaxies, meteors, moons, planets, comets to nebula. The result was, in part, the creation of celestial maps that showed an exponential number of stars in the heavens, adding to the awe of a sphere that is millions of miles away and beautiful beyond compare. Star atlases became a way of conveying information about the heavens, and Elijah H. Burritt's, "The Geography of the Heavens, 1856 (Cover-title: Atlas designed to illustrate Burritt's Geography of the Heavens), edited by Hiram Mattison and first published in 1833, is a 6-chart atlas that illustrates the mapping of the stars and features the constellations prominently and in great detail. There were several editions after and thousands of copies in print sold over a generation to meet the demand for this popular book.
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While little is known of his early life, the man behind this incredible book of star map was born in 1794, the son of a farmer and shoemaker, and in 1817, became a schoolteacher. He published his first book in 1818, titled "Logarithmick Arithmetick", but his most important work was the "The Geography of the Heavens" and it's accompanying "Celestial Atlas," which sold for a little over a dollar in 1833. Included in the 1856 edition are constellations for each month, the South Pole and North Pole constellations, the planets' relative magnitude and detail regarding the stars, clusters, comets and nebulae associated with each constellation. The names of each constellation is given, outlines of the figures that the constellations are names after, along with the brightest stars (some identified by name) that connected to
While little is known of his early life, the man behind this incredible book of star map was born in 1794, the son of a farmer and shoemaker, and in 1817, became a schoolteacher. He published his first book in 1818, titled "Logarithmick Arithmetick", but his most important work was the "The Geography of the Heavens" and it's accompanying "Celestial Atlas," which sold for a little over a dollar in 1833. Included in the 1856 edition are constellations for each month, the South Pole and North Pole constellations, the planets' relative magnitude and detail regarding the stars, clusters, comets and nebulae associated with each constellation. The names of each constellation is given, outlines of the figures that the constellations are names after, along with the brightest stars (some identified by name) that connected to