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You are here: Home / Space / What Is a Celestial Globe, Who Invented the Armillary Sphere, and What Does Armillary Mean In Latin?

What Is a Celestial Globe, Who Invented the Armillary Sphere, and What Does Armillary Mean In Latin?

May 4, 2020 by Karen Hill

Just as we use a terrestrial globe to show geography on Earth, we can use a celestial globe to locate stars in space.

All the visible stars are on the surface of the globe.

When you are looking at a celestial globe, you need to imagine yourself inside the globe looking out.

Since stars “move” from east to west across the sky when you spend time looking at them, the globe represents the celestial sphere at a specific point in time, as if someone took a snapshot of it, called an epoch.

It is believed that Greek astronomer Eratosthenes was the inventor of the celestial sphere, also known as an armillary sphere.

The name armillary sphere comes from the Latin word “armilla”, which means “circle”, or bracelet.

Armillary spheres, or celestial globes, were used by the Greeks as teaching tools as early as the 3rd century B.C.

Related Facts

  • What Is a Celestial Sphere and How Is the Celestial Sphere Important In Positional Astronomy?
  • What Are Celestial Objects, Where Do They Come From, and What Does the Word Celestial Mean In Latin?
  • How Do Astronomers Locate Stars On a Celestial Globe Using Declination and Right Ascension?
  • How Do You Use Your Specific Location on Earth To Reference Your Position On a Celestial Globe?
  • What Is the Celestial Horizon and How Is the Celestial Horizon Different Depending On Your Location?
  • What Is a Celestial Meridian and How Do You Determine Your Celestial Meridian?

Filed Under: Space

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « How Do Astronomers Locate Stars On a Celestial Globe Using Declination and Right Ascension?
Next Post: How Do You Use Hand Measurements To Estimate Distances In the Sky While Stargazing? »

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