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Astronomical Images : Instrument for computing planetary conjunctions

Peter Apian

Astronomical Images

<p style='text-align: justify;'>Peter Apian's (1495-1552) <i>Astronomicum Caesareum</i> (1540) is a remarkable example of the extent to which the physical form of books was used in service of the communication of astronomical knowledge and arguably represents the pinnacle of the book-maker's art in scientific works of the sixteenth century. The book was produced by Apian for Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and his brother Ferdinand I, and the publication was suitably lavish. Deluxe editions were produced on special quality paper, with seed pearls as sliding markers, and every copy was hand-coloured at Apian's private printing press in Ingolstadt. The majority of the work takes the form of a collection of paper instruments featuring assemblages of mounted paper circles and threads, with up to six layers of moving parts. In his preface Apian claimed that the aim of the work was to avoid the lengthy mathematical calculations that were usually involved in finding the position of the planets in the Ptolemaic system. He hoped to render Ptolemaic astronomy more understandable by making it accessible through a set of instruments. Since Charles V was fascinated by astronomy, it is perhaps not surprising that many of the devices could be used to determine planetary positions, information that would have been of interest to the astrological enthusiast. This is an instrument for computing planetary conjunctions.</p>


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