Celestial table globe

(This object possibly contains a LEAD weight) Celestial table globe. It forms a pair with the terrestrial globe, Senex GLB0138. Astronomical details on the sphere include a labelled magnitude table above Bootes. The stars are marked by their Bayer notation, and the Milky Way is labelled. There are nebulae in three constellations and labels for novae in Cassiopeia. A total of 51 stars and seven star groups are named. The 48 Ptolemaic constellations and four of the non-Ptolemaic constellations are drawn. Four southern constellations are drawn as well as those of Plancius and Hevelius.

In a catalogue added at the end of Thomas Wright's 'The use if the globe or, the general doctrine if the sphere', printed in 1740 for Senex as a guide for the use of his globes, the 680 mm (27 in) pair was advertised. The design of the celestial globe shows the influence of Blaeu's 680 mm globe, particularly in the nomenclature of the constellations and the stars, see Blaeu GLB0105. Ramus, a name for the apples of Hercules, was first introduced by Senex himself, however, Senex was one of the first globe makers to use the Bayer notation on a globe. Next to 1740, he also records 939 BC, which is the earliest date researchers at the National Maritime Museum, London have ever found on a globe. For full details about the cartography and construction of this globe please refer to the related publication.

Formerly the property of the first Earl of Hardwicke, Phillip Yorke, one of the authors of the 1729 Yorke-Talbot opinion which sanctioned slavery within English law.

Object Details

ID: GLB0139
Collection: Astronomical and navigational instruments; Charts and maps
Type: Table globe
Display location: Not on display
Creator: Senex, John; Petrus Plancius, Petrus
Date made: circa 1730
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Caird Collection
Measurements: Diameter of sphere: 680 mm;Overall: 930 mm x 880 mm x 29 kg
Parts: Celestial table globe
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