Dien's “Celestial Atlas”

Abstract

THIS is a new and enlarged edition of Dien's “Atlas Céleste,” which first appeared in 1864, with the co-operation of M. Babinet, and is brought out under the editorship of M. Camille Flammarion. That the formation of the atlas, both in its original and extended plan has involved a great amount of labour will be evident upon a very superficial examination. The first issue was said to contain upwards of 100,000 stars and nebulæ, of which 50,000 had been observed by Lalande, projected on the development of a sphere, sixty-five centimètres in diameter, their places being reduced to the year 1860, and this scale was stated to be sufficiently large to allow of the insertion without confusion of all stars to the ninth magnitude inclusive. The charts were said to contain “nearly the totality of stars in the catalogues of Lalande, Herschel I., Piazzi, Harding, Struve, Bessel, Herschel II., Groombridge, and Argelander,” while for the southern heavens recourse was had to the catalogues of La Caille and Brisbane. This description of the authorities consulted is not very definite. The reference to Harding must apply to his atlas; that to Bessel may be supposed to at least include the catalogue of equatorial stars observed by the Königsberg astronomer, which was prepared by Weisse of Cracow, and published in 1846, if not the second catalogue founded upon Bessel's observations, containing stars from 15° N. to 45° N. declination, also reduced by Weisse, which appeared in 1863. The reference to Argelander is especially indefinite; we have the well-known catalogue of 560 stars, and the “Uranometria Nova,” but previous to the year 1864, when “Dien's Atlas” was published, astronomers were also in possession of vols. 3, 4, and 5 of the “Durchmusterung,” with the results of the survey of the whole northern heavens.

Atlas Céleste, comprenant toutes les Cartes de l'ancien Atlas de Ch. Dien.

Rectifié, augmenté, and &c., par Camille Flammarion. 3^e édition. (Paris: Gautbier-Villars, 1877.)