Caspar Vopel (1511–1561) was a German cartographer and instrument maker. Born in
Medebach
Medebach () is a town in the Hochsauerland district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
Geography
Medebach is situated approximately east of Winterberg, south-west of Korbach and north of Marburg.
Neighbouring municipalities
* Korbach
* L ...
, he studied mathematics and medicine at the
University of Cologne
The University of Cologne (german: Universität zu Köln) is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in the year 1388 and is one of the most prestigious and research intensive universities in Germany. It was the sixth university to ...
in 1526–1529.
He taught mathematics at the Gymnasium of Cologne and in the early 1530s established a workshop to produce celestial and terrestrial globes,
armillary sphere
An armillary sphere (variations are known as spherical astrolabe, armilla, or armil) is a model of objects in the sky (on the celestial sphere), consisting of a spherical framework of rings, centered on Earth or the Sun, that represent lines of ...
s,
sundial
A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a flat ...
s,
quadrants and
astrolabe
An astrolabe ( grc, ἀστρολάβος ; ar, ٱلأَسْطُرلاب ; persian, ستارهیاب ) is an ancient astronomical instrument that was a handheld model of the universe. Its various functions also make it an elaborate inclin ...
s.
An exemplar of Vopel’s 1536 globe is held at Tenri University Library, Nara. In 1545 he began to prepare maps and atlases.
His mappemonde of 1545 is titled ''NOVA ET INTEGRA VNIVERSALISQVE ORBIS TOTIVS IVXTA GERMANVM NEOTERICORVM TRADITIONEM DESCRIPTIO'' (A New Complete and Universal Description of the Whole World, according to the Modern German Tradition).
Vopel is sometimes credited with the promotion of the ancient asterism
Coma Berenices
Coma Berenices is an ancient asterism in the northern sky, which has been defined as one of the 88 modern constellations. It is in the direction of the fourth galactic quadrant, between Leo and Boötes, and it is visible in both hemisphere ...
to constellation status.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vopel, Caspar
German cartographers
1511 births
1561 deaths
People from Medebach