JF Ptak Science Books: The Black Sun and Red Earth, 1862

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The Black Sun and Red Earth, 1862

JF Ptak Science Books Quick Post

These compelling images belong to Astronomie Populaire ou Description des Corps Célestes, Avec Atlas en Tableaux Transparents, à l'usage des Gens du Monde, which was published in Bruxelles in 1862. The book is surprising, with several of the engravings being laid in, with holes for the interiors of stars and glassine on the back of the plate so that the image can be held up to (candle) light for a better effect of looking at the night sky.

What I've selected though from this beautiful work are the cross sections of the Sun and the Earth. [Also of interest: an earlier post on this blog, Earths Inside the Earth, a Note on Interior Civiizations.]