Remapping the Skies

Remapping the skies

In the 1660s, the famous Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius set out to create more accurate charts by remapping the skies. He used his naked eye and a very large sextant to make new observations, discovering many additional stars. He also consulted and studied observations made by earlier scholars from Muslim civilisation.

Hevelius published in 1687 a comprehensive atlas of the constellations on the basis of his observations and additional resources. At his request, the Royal Society in London translated into Latin a renowned star catalogue produced in 1487 by the astronomer-mathematician Ulugh Beg, which he studied along with observations made in the 10th century by Persian astronomer Al-Sufi in his book 'Forms of Fixed Stars'.