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« ... The stellar globes are similar to
a map of the world: a representation of the whole ... the celestial vault
is observed "from
the outside"
and not from the Earth’s centre, the globe’s centre ... in
Tycho’s mind, however, this instrument is much more
... its inner structure is of wood, seasoned for two years, after
undergoing an accurate restoration, required after being abandoned for
five years ... the surface of the instrument is then brass laminated, in
such a perfect way, nobody can even suspect the inner structure is of wood
... "
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" ... The Equator
and the Ecliptic were engraved onto the brass surface,
"exactly dividing
each degree of the two circles in sixty minutes, using traditional transversal
graduation notches"
... with the contemporary use of mobile circles, graduated in a similar
way, coherently oriented towards Uraniburg’s local horizon, the instrument
allowed to transform the co-ordinates from
celestial [AR
and Dec] to local
[Height and Azimuth]
...
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The instrument may be called: a "mechanic
analogical calculator"
capable to transform co-ordinates ... its
precision was guaranteed by the stability of the globe and by its conspicuous
dimensions... diameter was about 1,8 m. ...
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«… The
large graduated horizontal ring is the local
Uraniburg’s horizon. It surrounds the globe
...
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The front vertical ring is the Meridian.
It represents the circle that intersects the Zenith,
the North and
South Pole ...
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The stellar globe revolved
about the North-South axis, it is
indicated in the picture with the letters
IK ...
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A graduated mobile
vertical arc passing through the Zenith
and the Nadir
allowed to measure the altitude of the stars
with respect to the local horizon ...
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The pedestal positioned the local horizon at
about one meter and a half from the floor ...
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To use Tycho’s words:
"A globe of such dimension, built in such
a solid and fine way, precise in all aspects, was never built before...
in any part of the world, this is my belief. (Forgive me, for praising
myself.)"...
Tycho represented on it the thousand and more
stars he was able to measure … a work that
lasted for a quarter of a centuryo
... »
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