Newly digitized: a landmark in the history of science, Galileo’s Sidereus Nuncius, or Starry Messenger, reports his astronomical observations through the newly invented telescope, showing the mountains and craters of the Moon, and the satellites of Jupiter, for the very first time.
Houghton Library, Harvard University
Johannes Regiomontanus, Epitoma in Almagestum Ptolomei, Venice, 1496.
Houghton Library, Harvard University
Tydts offloops beschryving van son maen sterren planeet tot het jaer 30,000,
ca. 1832-1850.
A astronomical, chronological, geographical, mathematical, and astrological manuscript with tables showing phases of the moon, calculations for the date of Easter, methods for calculating moveable feasts from the year 1582 to 2358, tides at Dunkirk, a table of golden numbers to the year 5600, and the length of time taken for the principal stars to pass the meridian.
Houghton Library, Harvard University
A solar eclipse just over 300 years ago captured intense public attention and marked a triumph for the predictive power of Newtonian physics. Houghton Library has a world-class collection of images from this eclipse, and you can see more of them in this post on the Houghton Blog.
Houghton Library, Harvard University
The constellation Felis, added by a French astronomer in 1798 who felt bad that there were no cats in the heavens.
Houghton Library, Harvard University
Galileo didn’t know it at the time, but his observations of sunspot activity in 1612 were tailor-made for the animated GIF! He demonstrated that sunspots can be tracked across the disk of the sun as it rotates–look for the cluster labeled R moving from top left to lower right.
Galilei, Galileo, 1564-1642. Istoria e dimostrazioni intorno alle macchie solari e loro accidenti, 1613.
Houghton Library, Harvard University
Galilei, Galileo, 1564-1642. Istoria e dimostrazioni intorno alle macchie solari e loro accidenti, 1613.
Houghton Library, Harvard University
One plate from a set of 1850 astronomical infographics with translucent cutouts to simulate the effect of starlight.
Emslie, John, 1813-1875. Astronomical diagrams, [ca. 1850]
Houghton Library, Harvard University
One plate from a set of 1850 astronomical infographics with translucent cutouts to simulate the effect of starlight.
Emslie, John, 1813-1875. Astronomical diagrams, [ca. 1850]
Houghton Library, Harvard University