Orion Constellation, 1482

Orion is a prominent constellation located on the celestial equator and visible throughout the world. It is one of the most conspicuous and most recognizable constellations in the night sky. Orion was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations defined by the International Astronomical Union. The stars of Orion were associated with Osiris, the sun god of rebirth and afterlife, by the ancient Egyptians. In artistic renderings, the surrounding constellations are sometimes related to Orion: he is sometimes depicted to have a lion's hide in his hand. Poeticon astronomicon is a star atlas whose authorship is disputed. The work was originally attributed to the Roman historian Gaius Julius Hyginus (64 BC - AD 17). The book lists most of the constellations in the same order as Ptolemy's Almagest (2nd century AD) which has led many to believe that a more recent Hyginus created the text. The Poeticon astronomicon was not formally published until 1482, by Erhard Ratdolt. He commissioned a series of woodcuts, but the relative positions of the stars bear little resemblance to the descriptions given by Hyginus in the text or the actual positions of the stars in the sky

Restrictions Only for Ireland and United Kingdom

1482 Asterism Astronomicon Atlas Celestial Constellation Hyginus Poeticon Sphere

Features In These Collections

> Contributors > PHR