While the #DogDays are technically over, that won’t stop us from sharing this very good dog today!

The phrase “dog days” comes from this astronomical puppy Canicula, also known as Sirius. These lazy, hazy days of summer coincide with the rising of the Sirius star system alongside the sun.

Canicula, Orion’s dog, is said to be chasing Lepus, the hare, across the night sky. That makes us think that perhaps we would rename Lepus Bunnicula.

Canicula from: John Seller, Atlas Coelestis (London, 1677).

#canicula #sirius #summer #tattooTuesday #puppies #astronomy

Have you seen any shooting stars lately? The Perseids meteor shower is at its peak this week, get those wishes ready!

Rambosson, J. Astronomy. New York: D. Appleton and Co., [187-?]

Did you catch a glimpse of the solar eclipse this morning?

This illustration is from the 1806 publication Darkness at Noon, which documented the total eclipse over New England on June 16, 1806.

Darkness at noon, or, The great solar eclipse of the 16th of June, 1806. Boston: D. Carlisle & A. Newell, 1806.

This week our #publishersbindingThursday post goes #outofthisworld with three delightfully star-studded covers. Because we couldn’t pick just one. 

Proctor, R.A. The Expanse of Heaven: a Series of Essays on the Wonders of the Firmament. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1889.

Raymond, Rossiter W. The Man in the Moon, and Other People. New York : The American News Company, 1874.

Rambosson, J. Astronomy. New York: D. Appleton & Co., [187-?].

“Certainely there are yet many things left to discovery, and it cannot be any inconvenience for us, to maintaine a new truth or rectifie and ancient errour.”

Wilkins may have been wrong about the possibility of life on the moon, but he was definitely on to something. 

A Jacobean clergyman, founder of the Royal Society, and brother-in-law to Oliver Cromwell, Wilkins’s writings not only helped to bring the science of astronomy to the general public, he also arguably started the space race. 

Wilkins, John. The discovery of a vvorld in the moone. Or, A discourse tending, to prove, that ‘tis probable there may be another habitable world in that planet. London: Printed by E.G. for Michael Sparke and Edward Forrest, 1638.

We have some pretty #stellar #cometcontent lined up for this weeks #outofthisworld post.  (see what we did there?)

These plates come from Seller’s Atlas Coelestis, a stunning volume published in 1677 which contains 53 two-page engravings depicting the planets, constellations, sun and moon, and yes, #comets. 

John Seller. Atlas coelestis, containing the systems and theoryes of the planets, the constellations of the starrs and other phenomina’s of the heavens. [London, 1677].

We are venturing #outofthisworld past the moon this week, far into the Milky Way, and beyond. These striking ombrè plates show a small grouping of nebulae of peculiar forms, including the Crab Nebula found in the constellation Taurus, the Cone Nebula in the constellation Monoceros (Unicorn), and a Spiral Nebula in the constellation Virgo.   

The spiral nebula, you might have noticed, looks an awful lot like a galaxy, and that’s because it is. Up until the beginning of the 20th century, the existence of galaxies outside of our own wasn’t known or understood. Spiral nebulae were the focus of the great Shapley-Curtis Debate in 1920, but it wasn’t until 1924 that Edwin Hubble was able to prove that the spiral-shaped Andromeda Nebula was actually a galaxy of its own, comprised of stars, far outside the Milky Way. 

 J.A.S. Rollwin. Astronomy simplified for general reading. London: William Tegg & Co; New York: Scribner, Welford, & Armstrong, 1875.

Day 6 of the #PrideMonth #LibraryLoveisLoveisLove challenge brings us this beautiful indigo publishers’ binding on our copy of Rambosson’s Astronomy (New York, circa 1870). We especially love the gilt decoration on the spine.

Astronomy : by J. Rambosson, … Translated by C.B. Pitman. With sixty-three wood engravings, three maps of the celestial bodies, and ten coloured plates. Rambosson, J. (Jean) New York : D. Appleton and Co. [187-?]

This Pegasus is about to break free of its star map and the fish is thinking, “here we go again…”

John Seller, Atlas Coelestis (London, 1677).

This celestial atlas is full of plates that are folded and bound into this little book to use under the starry skies. See the book in person as part of The Living Book: New Perspectives on Form and Function, on display in our main gallery through January 5, 2018. 

If you haven’t heard, today the United States is going to experience a total eclipse [of the heart] and the Library Company is celebrating the event with a mini exhibition on eclipses currently on display in our Logan Room.

We love the title of this book Darkness at Noon but think they could take it up a notch by calling it Ultimate Darkness at High Noon. Drama is everything when talking about a solar eclipse.  

Darkness at Noon.  Boston : D. Carlisle & A. Newell, 1806.