Mapping the Universe - Mapping Scientific Frontiers: The Quest for Knowledge Visualization - page 61

Fig. 2.13 Constellations in the southern hemisphere in 1795s. The Constellations of Eratosthenes

did not draw charts of the entire northern or southern heavens for purposes of
study and demonstration. From 1440, star maps began to feature the 48 classical
constellations.
The Renaissance in Europe revived the need for a celestial map, as a counterpart
of terrestrial explorers' world map. The fascination with constellations as artistic
topics influenced astronomical imagery for four centuries. Constellations became
the subject of a number of Renaissance paintings (See Fig. 2.14 ).
During the European Renaissance, the celestial globe was imported from the
Islamic world to Europe. The celestial globe had a significant impact on celestial
cartography. Most star charts drawn during the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries
mapped the constellations in reverse, as shown on a globe. Globes are models
of the celestial sphere with viewers standing on the outside. Some cartographers
followed this convention when they made star maps. However, some chose to show
the constellations as they appeared from earth.