celestial globes
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Related term/s
Alternative term/s
- celestial globe
- globes, celestial
Anotations
Scope note:
Refers to globes that depict the celestial sphere, which is a representation of the heavens in which the stars, constellations, and planets are depicted as if the sky visible from Earth were a ball. They were used for astronomical or astrological calculations or as ornaments. They have been known since the time of the ancient Greeks. The globes are intended to depict the heavens, generally the night sky, that to an observer on Earth appears as a hemisphere resting on the horizon. The eastward rotation of the Earth on its axis produces an apparent diurnal westward rotation of the starry sphere, and the stars seem to rotate around a northern or southern celestial pole. For representations of the celestial sphere projected onto a flat plane, use "planispheres."