Astronomical Images : System of the World according to Ptolemy

Jean-Baptiste Morin

Astronomical Images

<p style='text-align: justify;'>This image is from <i>Famosi et antiqui problematis de telluris motu, vel quiete; hactenus optata solutio</i> [A desirable solution to the notorious and ancient problem of the Earth's motion or rest], published in Paris in 1631 by the astrologer and Professor of Mathematics at the Collège de France, Jean-Baptiste Morin. It presents 'The System of the World according to Ptolemy'. Unlike most traditional representations, this figure omits the crystalline sphere and, as noted by S. K. Heninger, shows a large space between the sphere of Saturn and that of the fixed stars, probably on the basis of Tycho Brahe's inability to detect stellar parallax.</p>