''Selenographia, sive Lunae descriptio'' (''Selenography, or A Description of The Moon'') was printed in 1647 and is a milestone work by

Johannes Hevelius Johannes Hevelius Some sources refer to Hevelius as Polish: * * * * * * * Some sources refer to Hevelius as German: * * * * *of the Royal Society * (in German also known as ''Hevel''; pl, Jan Heweliusz; – 28 January 1687) was a councillor ...

. It includes the first detailed map of the moon, created from Hevelius's personal observations. In his treatise, Hevelius reflected on the difference between his own work and that of

Galileo Galilei Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He wa ...

. Hevelius remarked that the quality of Galileo's representations of the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

in ''

Sidereus nuncius ''Sidereus Nuncius'' (usually ''Sidereal Messenger'', also ''Starry Messenger'' or ''Sidereal Message'') is a short Astronomy, astronomical treatise (or ''pamphlet'') published in New Latin by Galileo Galilei on March 13, 1610. It was the first ...

'' (1610) left something to be desired. ''Selenography'' was dedicated to King

Ladislaus IV of Poland Ladislaus ( or according to the case) is a masculine given name of Slavic origin. It may refer to: * Ladislaus of Hungary (disambiguation) * Ladislaus I (disambiguation) * Ladislaus II (disambiguation) * Ladislaus III (disambiguation) * Ladisl ...

and along with

Riccioli Giovanni Battista Riccioli, SJ (17 April 1598 – 25 June 1671) was an Italian astronomer and a Catholic priest in the Jesuit order. He is known, among other things, for his experiments with pendulums and with falling bodies, for his discussion ...

/ Grimaldi's ''Almagestum Novum'' became the standard work on the Moon for over a century. There are many copies that have survived, including those in Bibliothèque nationale de France, in the library of

Polish Academy of Sciences The Polish Academy of Sciences ( pl, Polska Akademia Nauk, PAN) is a Polish state-sponsored institution of higher learning. Headquartered in Warsaw, it is responsible for spearheading the development of science across the country by a society o ...

, in the Stillman Drake Collection at the Thomas Fisher Rare Books Library at the University of Toronto, and in the

Gunnerus Library The Gunnerus Library in Trondheim is the oldest scientific library in Norway and dates back to 1768 when it was the library of the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters (DKNVS). The library is named after bishop Johan Ernst Gunnerus (1 ...

at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim. Selenographia map of moon

Notes

External links

''Selenographia, sive Lunae descriptio''
1647 books Lunar science Astronomy books {{astronomy-book-stub