Hæmisphæria Sphærarum Rectæ Et Obliquæ...

Andreas Cellarius (1596-1665)
Plate 12 – Hæmisphæria Sphærarum Rectæ Et Obliquæ...
From: Atlas Coelestis seu Harmonia Macrocosmica
Amsterdam: Schenk and Valk, 1708
Hand-colored copperplate engraving
36 1/2” x 32" framed

This visually entangling plate makes for such a captivating view with all its many lines, varying only slightly in width. All these lines running parallel to each other or sometimes either crossing perpendicular or as tangents make for such a capturing globular subject. The large round space in the center, as in most of the other prints from this series, consumes the majority of the picture plane and serves as a containing realm for the subject matter.

This plate’s subject matter is meant to illustrate the Ecliptic coordinate system, which displays “the sun’s apparent annual path on the celestial sphere.” This system contains an element called the “oblique sphere,” which is used for calculating the position of the Sun, Moon, and Planets.

Another system displayed in this print is the Equatorial coordinate system which relates to the axis of Earth’s rotation. This system also entails the “upright sphere, which was used for calculating astronomical phenomenon such as the rising, setting, and meridian transit of a celestial body.”

The general purpose of this diagram as a whole would be to convert coordinates between the two systems. Cellarius alluded to the differing between the two systems by depicting pseudo stars. False towns are also depicted to refer to this same idea of one town having a given set of geographical coordinates in one system and a different set of coordinates in another system.

An interesting visual element in the piece is that the title cartouche is not being held up by cherubs in this piece, rather it floats without help.