Star Maps: History, Artistry, and Cartography

Springer Praxis Books: Popular Astronomy

by Nick Kanas

The beauty and awe generated by the celestial void captures our imagination and delights our aesthetic sense. Antiquarian map societies are prospering, and celestial maps are now viewed as a specialty of map collecting. This book traces the history of celestial cartography and relates this history to the changing ideas of man’s place in the universe and to advances in map-making. Photographs from actual antiquarian celestial atlases and prints, many previously unpublished, enrich the text. The book describes the development and relationships between different sky maps and atlases as well as demonstrating contemporary cosmological ideas, constellation representations, and cartographic advances.

Genres: Science, Astronomy, History, Art, Nonfiction, Space, Maps

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Kadri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a treasure. It has a lot of information about the history of astronomy and the first instruments astronomers used and ofcourse tons of great pictures of the fabulous star maps which the book is really about. Some parts are great and entertaining to read, while if you'd try to read everything through then you'd have to be familiar with some rather obscure star map makers to find everything interesting.

[Jam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly readable, especially for a book published by Springer. Easy to pick up, doesn't require any real in-depth knowledge of celestial cartographer, packed with information and actually interesting. For me, the high points were the chapters on non-Western starmaps (China, Mesopotamia, Egypt, etc.) but others might enjoy the stuff on early American star maps more.

[Lara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book encompassing, well, exactly what the title says it does! Lots of fantastic maps in both color and black and white, and lots of great information on the history of star maps and how they changed over time. Definitely recommended for anyone interested in astronomy or cartography.

[Divakar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice one

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Star Maps. Nick Kanas. 2007. Hands down, one of the best books on cartography ever written!