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Posted by: Meagan Snow
Using materials from the Geography & Map Division's Frederick Doyle Papers, this post explores the role NASA’s Apollo Transforming Printer played in creating maps of the moon from panoramic photographs.
Posted in: 20th century cartography, American History, Celestial Mapping, Geographic Information Science
Posted by: Cynthia Smith
Topographical maps of Venus are featured in this post. The transit of Venus is also discussed.
Posted in: 18th century cartography, 19th century cartography, 20th century cartography, Celestial Mapping, Exploration
Posted by: Cynthia Smith
Mars receives more media attention than the other planets in our solar system. People are obsessed with the classic novels The War of the Worlds and The Martian Chronicles. The movies Total Recall and The Martian were huge hits. Mars has polar ice caps, dry river beds and extinct volcanoes, and Martian landscape posters have …
Posted in: Celestial Mapping, Exploration
Posted by: Cynthia Smith
The lunar maps shown in this post were created long before satellite images became available. The topography is highly detailed and the historical backgrounds of the astronomers who created them are compelling. The first working telescope was built in the Netherlands in 1608. British astronomer Thomas Harriot (1560-1621) made the first recorded sketches of the …
Posted in: Celestial Mapping, Exploration
Posted by: Cynthia Smith
Above is an image of the constellation Perseus holding the head of Medusa, famous for her serpentine hair. This chart is from a Russian celestial atlas published in 1829. I became aware of this unusual atlas while searching for new acquisitions for the collections of Geography and Map Division. This led me to learn more …
Posted in: 19th century cartography, Celestial Mapping