Nineteenth-Century Efforts to Catalog Stars | Research & Encyclopedia Articles

Nineteenth-Century Efforts to Catalog Stars

Overview

Among the many achievements of nineteenth-century astronomy was the production of a large number of comprehensive and accurate star catalogs. Building upon the less precise observations of previous centuries, European astronomers in the nineteenth century took advantage of better telescopes and new technologies to produce their improved catalogs. Yet their projects to map, chart, and catalog stars affected more than just the science of astronomy. Their efforts would help advance navigation and exploration and promote international co-operation among astronomers of different nationalities during a period of tension between the nations of Europe.

Background

The production of star catalogs is an ancient practice. Many pre-historic societies around the world had some method of charting or recording the movements of the stars, planets, the Moon, and the Sun. These societies even learned that it was possible to navigate by using the stars. The early Greeks produced star catalogs from naked eye observations that were used for centuries in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Centuries later Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) argued that Earth goes around the Sun instead of the Sun going around Earth. One implication of this new theory was that the stars must be much farther away from Earth than was previously thought.

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