Star Maps: History, Artistry, and Cartography (Springer Praxis Books / Popular Astronomy) - Softcover

Kanas, Nick

4.25

40 ratings by Goodreads

9781461409168: Star Maps: History, Artistry, and Cartography (Springer Praxis Books / Popular Astronomy)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1461409160 ISBN 13: 9781461409168

Publisher: Springer, 2012

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Until the publication of the first edition of 'Star Maps,' books were either general histories of astronomy using examples of antiquarian celestial maps as illustrations, or catalogs of celestial atlases that failed to trace the flow of sky map development over time.

The second edition focuses on the development of contemporary views of the heavens and advances in map-making. It captures the beauty and awe of the heavens through images from antiquarian celestial prints and star atlases. This book uniquely combines a number of features: 1) the history of celestial cartography is traced from ancient to modern times; 2) this development is integrated with contemporary cosmological systems; 3) the artistry of sky maps is shown using beautiful color images from actual celestial atlases and prints; 4) each illustration is accompanied by a legend explaining what is being shown; and 5) the text is written for the lay reader based on the author's experience with writing articles for amateur astronomy and map collector magazines.

This updated second edition of 'Star Maps' contains over 50 new pages of text and 44 new images (16 in color), including completely new sections on celestial frontispieces, deep-sky objects, playing card maps, additional cartographers, and modern computerized star maps. There is also expanded material about celestial globes, volvelles, telescopes, and planets and asteroids.

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Review:

From the reviews of the second edition:

“Nick Kanas’ ‘Star Maps’ lets you have a peek in some of the oldest and most famous star maps that were drawn and printed. ... Star Maps also gives a short overview of the history of astronomy from it’s beginning to the 20th century and also describes some of the earliest instruments that astronomers used - astrolabe, armillary sphere, volvelle. ... If you’re really into maps, then this is a cool book to read as well.” (Kadri Tinn, AstroMadness.com, August, 2013)

From the Back Cover:

Star Maps captures the beauty and awe of the heavens through celestial prints and star atlases. It traces the history of celestial cartography and relates this history to the changing ideas of humanity's place in the universe. The text of this Second Edition is enriched with 263 photographs, 91 in color, showing images from actual antiquarian celestial books and atlases, each one with an explanation of its astronomical and cartographic features.

This new edition of Star Maps: History, Artistry, and Cartography includes:

- over 50 new pages of text and 44 new images (16 in color)
- completely new sections on celestial frontispieces, deep-sky objects, playing card maps, additional cartographers, and modern computerized star maps
- updated figures and text about celestial globes, volvelles, telescopes, and planets and asteroids
- revised and updated text and illustrations throughout.

The book focuses on the development of celestial cartography from ancient to modern times and describes the relationships between different star maps and atlases. It demonstrates contemporary cosmological ideas, constellation representations, and cartographic advances. Uniquely, it contains material on early American influences and non-European constellation representations. This book is a must-have reference for anyone interested in the workings of the heavens.

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