Universal Questions
Mapping the Skies Through Time
Mapping the Skies Through Time
To view the map images in the American Geographical Society Library Digital Map Collection, click on the "i" icon in the upper left-hand corner, then click the link.
Mapping the stars as they rotate through the night sky is an ancient art practiced by people all over the world. The ways people talk about space change over time thanks to scientific discoveries, but humanity continues to be deeply curious about the Universe around us. The maps, charts, globes, books, and posters displayed in this exhibit document the wide variety of questions human beings ask about space. The materials serve as visualizations of the insights we’ve discovered about the Universe and the stories we’ve told about humanity’s place in it. From ancient times and into the future, humans are fascinated with investigating the depths of space....
Have you ever wondered why you can only see certain constellations in particular seasons? Or what myths inspired those constellations’ names? What exactly is a comet? What would it feel like to walk on the Moon? Just how far into space can human beings explore, either in person or using cameras and other technology?
People have asked and attempted to answer variations of these questions for centuries. Star charts are one way ancient and modern people try to capture the vastness of space. By mapping the placement of the stars visible to our eyes on a dark night, star charts serve as valuable tools for navigation and for observing the changing seasons.
“Map of the Sky.” Milan: Arti Grafiche Ricordi, 1981
With the improvements in lenses and photography in the 19th century, even more distant and changeable phenomena in space like nebulae were more clearly seen, documented, and investigated. Previously mysterious celestial events like the apparition of comets could be charted to predict how and why they appeared in the sky.
The celestial body human beings have investigated the most is our nearest neighbor, the Moon. In the past 60 years, our knowledge of the Moon has skyrocketed from only knowing what one side of the Moon looked like to knowing what it feels like to actually walk on it, thanks to the astronauts who have ventured out onto its surface!
From Henry Davenport Northrop. Earth, Sea and Sky, or, Marvels of the Universe: Being a Full and Graphic Description of All That Is Wonderful in Every Continent of the Globe, in the World of Waters and the Starry Heavens : Containing Thrilling Adventures on Land and Sea ... : Embracing the Striking Physical Features of the Earth, the Peculiar Characteristics of the Human Race, of Animals, Birds, Insects, Etc., Including a Vivid Description of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans and of the Polar Seas ... : Together with the Amazing Phenomena of the Solar and Starry Systems. Mansfield, Ohio: Estill & Co., 1887.
Hellmuth Wolf, “Erdmond.” Gotha: Hermann Haack, 1973.
From William E. Burrows, The Infinite Journey: Eyewitness Accounts of NASA and the Age of Space. Mary Kalamaras, editor. New York: Discovery Books, 2000.
Today, space continues to be ‘the final frontier’. The legacy of space telescopes like the Spitzer and Hubble continues with the launch of the James Webb Space telescope. Countries all over the world are probing near and far into space, asking ever bigger questions about how our Universe came to be, what it’s made of, and just how big it is.
“Hubble Space Telescope: NASA’s Incredible Time Machine.” Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, undated; “International Space Year: Love Your Planet.” 1992; and “Space Station Freedom: Great Nations Dare to Explore.” Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, undated.
Spitzer Space Telescope Images, from Patrick Moore, Philip’s Atlas of the Universe, Sixth edition. London: Philip’s, 2007; and The Large Megellanic Cloud, from Serge Brunier, The Great Atlas of the Stars. Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books, 2001.
Since ancient times, people have mapped the stars which appear above them each night and shared stories about the constellations they saw. Named clusters of stars have been mapped and beautifully illustrated by many cultures. This section of the exhibit includes a manuscript illustration of Aries created in Medieval Italy and a Persian sketch of Taurus created in the 15th Century. Other star charts were created to help rulers make predictions about how best to lead their nations, as the Rong Shi Lei Zhan’s star charts served the Ming Emperors in China. Finally, some star charts did not connect the stars they map into constellations at all, letting the stars speak for themselves. The Skidi Pawnee Tribe’s star chart simply and elegantly lays out different stars’ distance from one another and indicates how brightly each shines based on their size.
Across cultures and continents, the beauty of the night sky has long inspired us to wonder about humanity’s place in the cosmos. Learning the stories one’s ancestors told about the stars and space as a whole continues to be a meaningful way to connect with one's heritage and ask questions one’s ancestors might have asked.
With the Copernican Revolution in the 16th century, the questions people in the West asked about the stars and our relationship to them began to change significantly. European perceptions of space — and Earth’s place in it — changed significantly with Nicholas Copernicus’s (1473-1543) discovery that Earth was not the center of the universe, but rather, was just one of many objects circling our Sun. This theory is nicely illustrated in the German map of the solar system below, created in 1831. While this new understanding of space was initially contentious, by 1742, when the Atlas Novus Coelestis was published, it allowed astronomers to answer and beautifully illustrate questions which had puzzled people for millennia, such as “why do eclipses happen?”, “why do comets appear?” and “why does the length of the day change over the course of the year?”.
C.F. Weiland and J.C. Gerrich, "Das Planenten System der Sonne zuerst von Copernicus 1543 aufgestellt, durch Keppler und Newton bewiesen und durch Olbers, Herding, Piazzi, Herschel u.a." or "The planetary system of the sun first established by Copernicus in 1543, proved by Keppler and Newton and expanded and corrected by Olbers, Herding, Piazzi, Herschel and others", 1831.
" Phaenomena," from "Atlas Novus Coelestis," by Johann Baptist Homann and Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr, 1742.
The stars also help us as we move around on Earth — they continue to be useful tools for marking the passage of time and navigating by land and sea. Being able to identify where you are on the globe using the stars is still a useful skill all over the world. Versions of books like The Star Atlas and Navigation Encyclopedia continue to be published into the present, even in the age of satellite GPS!
Title page from Simon Newcomb, Popular Astronomy, with One Hundred and Twelve Engravings and Five Maps of the Stars. New York: American Book Company, 1892.
S. S. Rabl, The Star Atlas and Navigation Encyclopedia. New York: Cornell Maritime Press, 1946; Title page from А. Д. Могилко, учебный звездный атлас. У.ч.п.е.д.г.и.з. [State Publishing House of Student and Pedagogical Literature], 1958; and H. A. Rey, The Stars: a New Way to See Them. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1962.
As technology advanced in the 20th century, people no longer had to limit their questions about space to things that we can observe from the ground. When the Space Race began in 1955 between the global superpowers of the US and USSR, even bigger questions about space were investigated.
Some of the biggest initial questions raised by the Space Race were about life in space: can human beings live and thrive in this “Frontier Unlimited”? How do human bodies adapt to being in space? Are humans the only life forms in our universe, and if not, how close to Earth have aliens come? A pamphlet published by the American Astronautical Society in 1966 confidently answers the question of “What does a man do in the exploration of space [that a robot or instrument could not]?” by arguing that the questions we have about space must be answered by sending people out who can make judgements and record their lived experiences!
Harold L. Goodwin, Space: Frontier Unlimited. Princeton, NJ: Van Nostrand, 1962; Maura Phillips Mackowski, Life in Space: NASA Life Sciences Research During the Late Twentieth Century. Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 2022; and an excerpt from Roger D. Launius, The Smithsonian History of Space Exploration: from the Ancient World to the Extraterrestrial Future. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Books, 2018.
Serge A. Korff, “The Importance of Manned Exploration in Space.” Tarzana, CA: American Astronautical Society, 1966.
A wide variety of technology, vehicles, satellites, and cameras were developed to bring us into closer contact with space. Unmanned equipment like the Soviet Luna 15, ITOS satellite, and NASA’s small explorer SAMPEX gathered a wide variety of data for us to analyze back on Earth. Meanwhile, manned explorations like the Gemini missions and Spacelab Life Sciences 1 shuttle required even more scientific effort to make life in space possible for the astronauts on board. “The Conquest of Space” map below gives a good sense of how diverse the objects the US, USSR, and other nations sent into space were, just between 1955 and 1968!
Front and back of AG Hallwag, “Die Eroberung des Weltraums = The conquest of space = La conquête de l'espace = La conquista dello spazio.” Bern: Hallwag, 1968.
“Lunar Explorers Head Home From Moon Orbit: Luna 15 Goes Dead on the Moon.” Milwaukee Sentinel. Tuesday Morning, July 22, 1969.
From Space: Environmental Vantage Point. Washington, DC: US Department of Commerce, 1971.
Around the World: a View from Space, Authentic Gemini Astronaut Photographs. Chicago: Rand McNally, 1968; and cover and [page from M. Borisov, Kratery Babakina. Moskva: Izd-vo “Znanie,,” 1982.
“SAMPEX: NASA’s Small Explorer program.” Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, undated; and “Spacelab Life Sciences 1: First Space Shuttle Mission Dedicated to Life Sciences Research.” Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, undated.
Since the 1980s, the questions scientists have been asking and answering about space have shifted once again. Today, research continues into what we can learn about our home planet from space, and how far into the depths of the Universe we can explore. For example, satellite technology today is used to monitor our climate, track and predict weather, and map natural and man-made changes on the Earth’s surface. Meanwhile, tools like the James Webb space telescope are plunging farther and farther into the Universe, answering questions we could previously only wonder about, such as “what is the structure of a dying star like?” or “what color is the most distant star we have mapped yet?”. Finally, dreams of building sustainable colonies in space live on even today. While the grand designs included in 1977's Colonies in Space might seem overly optimistic, their vision of making a life in space lives on.
“The Universe: Nature’s Grandest Design.” Washington, DC: National Geographic Society, 1990.
Title page of Erik M. Conway, Atmospheric Science at NASA: a History. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008; Terry Hope,Earthcam: Watching the World from Orbit. Cincinnati: David & Charles, 2006; and a page from Hans Vehrenberg and Ulrich Güntzel-Lingner, Atlas of Deep-Sky Splendors. Fourth edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983.
Images from T. A. Heppenheimer, Colonies in Space. Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 1977.
Humans have asked a lot of questions through history about our nearest neighbor in space: the Moon. While the Moon may be relatively close to us, seemingly simple questions like “what does the far side of the moon look like?” remained a mystery until the 1950s. However, this didn’t stop cartographers and astronomers from making beautiful maps of all the craters and mountains on the side of the moon we can see!
From F.A. Pouchet, The Universe, or, The Wonders of Creation: the Infinitely Great and the Infinitely Little. Seventh edition. Boston: B.B. Russell, 1883.
Perhaps the most famous research related to the Moon was conducted during the Space Race, the US and USSR’s epic competition to be the first nation to put people on the surface of the Moon. After conducting multiple space missions and developing all kinds of technology, the dream of putting men on the moon became reality when NASA’s Apollo 11 mission successfully landed on the Moon in 1969. This history-making mission made it possible to answer all kinds of questions about the moon that we could only dream about discovering before.
Title page of John Andrews Barbour, Footprints on the Moon, by the Writers and Editors of the Associated Press. New York: Associated Press, 1969; and a spread from Patrick Moore, Mondflug Atlas. Bern: Verlag Hallwag, 1969.
“Rand McNally Official Map of the Moon, Compliments of Dial Soap.” Chicago: Rand McNally, 1969.
Because of its nearness and beauty, the Moon was one of the first celestial objects scientists decided to document and explore as technology advanced. For example, early photographer John Draper took the first photograph of something in space in 1840. Draper and his son Henry built an observatory and large refractory telescope on their property in New York State and continued to make photographs of the Moon for decades, including the reproduction displayed here.
John and Henry Draper, “Moon Photograph.” 1863
Title Page from C.G. Schwartz, Mémoire explicatif sur la sphère caucasienne, et specialement sur le zodiaque, oú l’on prouve que ce dernier monument, sous quelque forme qu’il puisse se présenter, doit être jugé indigne de toute attention de la part des astronomes et des archéologues, n’ayant jamais été dans l’origine qu’une pure rêverie astrologique. Paris: Chez Migneret, 1813.
One of the most ancient and beautiful tools for asking and answering questions about space are constellations — a cluster of stars which can be connected in a pattern or picture. Constellations usually come with a myth about how the person or creature they depict appeared in the sky, and cultures all over the world have assigned the constellations with their own meaningful names and stories.
In the West, the 12 constellations of the Zodiac are some of the most famous. For example, this colorful star chart created by Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) — one of the most famous European printmakers — divides the sky into the 12 sections of the Zodiac. Much has been written about the different constellations of the Zodiac and what they can supposedly tell us about our personalities, but there are other constellations in the Northern Hemisphere, too. One example you might know is Ursa Major, also known as “the Big Dipper”. This constellation is close enough to the North Star that it is visible in the Northern Hemisphere year-round.
From Thomas Milner, The Gallery of Nature: a Pictorial and Descriptive Tour through Creation, Illustrative of the Wonders of Astronomy, Physical Geography, and Geology. London: Wm. S. Orr & Co., 1852.
Cover of J. F. Blake and Camille Flammarion, Astronomical Myths: Based on Flammarion’s “History of the Heavens”. London: Macmillan and Co., 1877; and a spread from K. Reĭssig, Sozvi︠e︡zdīi︠a︡ predstavlennyi︠a︡ na XXX tabilt︠s︡akh s opisanīem onykh i rukovodstvom k udobnomu ikh otyskanī i︠u︡ na nebi︠e︡ sostavlennym dli︠a︡ uchebnykhi︠e︡ zavedenīĭ i li︠u︡biteleĭ astrognozīi. Sanktpetersburg: V Tipografīi Kh. Gint︠s︡a, 1829.
But there’s not just one set of constellations! In the Southern Hemisphere, a different set of stars is visible throughout the year, and cultures below the equator, like sub-Saharan African people groups, have their own set of stories about the stars. Even here in the Northern Hemisphere, the supremacy of the Zodiac has been contested. For example, Jullius Schiller (c. 1580 – 1627) was an astronomer who tried to rename constellations after Biblical figures instead of mythological ones, as depicted in the second image below.
From Lara Albanese, Space Maps. Greenbelt, Maryland: What on Earth Books, 2020.
Andreas Cellarius, "Coeli stellati Christiani haemisphaerium prius", Rand McNally, 1660, as featured in Elena Percivaldi, Celestial Atlas: a Journey in the Sky through Maps. Translated by Richard Pierce. Milan, Italy: Whitestar Publishers, 2018
Wherever you are on the globe and whatever name you use for the constellations, if you can find them on a star charts or tool like the Planisphere — a map or globe that show how stars are placed at different times and seasons — displayed below, you can use the stars to find your way around here on Earth!
From Elijah H. Burritt, Atlas, Designed to Illustrate The Geography of the Heavens. Hartford: Published by F.J. Huntington, 1836.
“The Heavens.” Washington DC: National Geographic Society (U.S.). Cartographic Division, 1982.
Brumfiel, Geoff. "U.S. Navy Brings Back Navigation by the Stars for Officers." National Public Radio. 22 February, 2016. https://www.npr.org/2016/02/22/467210492/u-s-navy-brings-back-navigation-by-the-stars-for-officers
Growcoot, Matt. "A Brief History of the Very First Moon Photos Ever Taken." PetaPixel. 14 June, 2023. https://petapixel.com/2023/06/14/a-brief-history-of-the-very-first-moon-photos-ever-taken/
Launius, Roger D. The Smithsonian History of Space Exploration: from the Ancient World to the Extraterrestrial Future. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Books, 2018.
Malott, Kyle. "Potawatomi Constellation Star Map." Wiwkwébthëgen. 22 May, 2019. https://wiwkwebthegen.com/digital-heritage/potawatomi-constellation-star-map-kyle-malott
"NASA Missions A-Z." National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Accessed 13 September, 2023. https://www.nasa.gov/missions
Odenwald, Sten F. Space Exploration: a History in 100 Objects. New York: The Experiment, 2019.
Scoles, Sarah. "The Search for Extraterrestrial Life as We Don't Know It." Scientific American. 1 February, 2023. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-search-for-extraterrestrial-life-as-we-dont-know-it/
"Space Race Timeline." Royal Museums Geenwich. Accessed 16 August, 2023. https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/space-race-timeline
"Traditional Star Knowledge Provides Connections to Potawatomi Heritage and Culture." Citizen Potawatomi Nation. 15 January, 2021. https://www.potawatomi.org/blog/2021/01/15/traditional-star-knowledge-provides-connections-to-potawatomi-heritage-and-culture/
"Webb Space Telescope." National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Accessed 16 August, 2023. https://webb.nasa.gov/
Witzenburg, Frankie. "Mapping the Moon." National Archives: The Unwritten Record. 27 April, 2023. https://unwritten-record.blogs.archives.gov/2023/04/27/mapping-the-moon/