Weigel Star Globe

Description

Erhardt Weigel, a professor at the University of Jena in Germany, built this celestial globe in 1699. Light from a lamp placed inside shone through the small holes identifying each constellation, making this one of the earliest known optical projecting planetarium. To make astronomy more relatable at the time, Weigel linked existing constellations to European royal families and countries. For example, Ursa Major was replaced with the elephant representing Denmark.

Object Information

Date Created:

1699

Local ID:

FI Catalog # 1743

Collection:

Astronomy

Credit Line:

Purchased by The Franklin Institute in 1932

Count:

1

Citation:

Weigel Star Globe (FI Catalog # 1743) from the collections of The Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, PA. USA

Dimensions:

63.5cm high x 55.88cm long x 50.8cm deep

Creator(s):

Erhardt Weigel

Materials:

Copper, Wood

Classification:

T&E For Science & Technology, Astronomical T&E     

Rights:

Fair Use for educational purposes

Appears In

Resource Kit
The Franklin Institute

Treading Among the Stars: How We’ve Found Our Way

Long before there were advanced technologies available for studying the sky, people devised ways of depicting the sun, moon, planets, and stars in relation to the Earth to figure out how our planet fit into the vast universe. Our method of exploring the night sky has grown to now include actual trips into space, even visiting another celestial body in person. But before technology made direct exploration possible, we had to use remote methods to map the expanse we could see from Earth.

Created by: The Franklin Institute

Grade 3-8