Haemisphaerium Australe
January 3, 2009
Happy 2009! My New Year’s card illustrates some constellations unique to the southern hemisphere: Centaurus, Cetus, Hydra, Scorpio, and Piscis Austrinus. The concept was inspired by Uranometria, a beautifully engraved star atlas of 1603 (the first to cover the entire celestial sphere), and by my recent travels south of the equator.
I’m now at McMurdo Station in Antarctica, with no constellations to see. The only visible star is the sun which won’t set till autumn.
Daily updates continue at The Long View Project blog.