Summary: Naturalist John Hill named Uranoscopus the Star-Gazer constellation in his 1754 astronomical dictionary, Urania, or, A Compleat View of the Heavens.
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| John Hill's Uranoscopus the Star-Gazer constellation (center-lower center) inhabits the northern celestial hemisphere's second quadrant (NQ2) and shares the quadrant with one other Hill-invented constellation, Lumbricus the Earthworm (upper-center left): Ultima Thulean, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons |
Eighteenth-century English apothecary, naturalist and writer John Hill introduced Uranoscopus the Star-Gazer constellation in his astronomical dictionary, Urania, or, A Compleat View of the Heavens, published in 1754.
"A conſtellation offered to the aſtronomical world in theſe obſervations," began Hill (1714-Nov. 21, 1775) at the beginning of his dictionary entry on Testudo as a slight variation, with the addition of the phrase "in theſe obſervations," of the standard phrase introducing his dictionary entries for each of his 14 additional invented constellations. He then completed the sentence by briefly situating the new constellation's celestial location: ". . . and compoſed of certain conſpicuous and unformed ſtars between the conſtellation Lynx and the ſign Gemini."
Hill glimpsed in the particular stars the outline of a member of the ray-finned, eyes-atop-the head Uranoscopus genus. "The Uranoſcope is a ſea-fiſh of peculiar figure, and has its name from its eyes being in ſuch a poſition that it always looks upwards. Nature has deſtined it for living at the bottom of the ſeas, and its prey being always above it, this is the only direction of the eyes that could be uſeful. Moſt of the writers in natural hiſtory have named it, and it will be found figured and deſcribed at large in the hiſtory of animals, publiſhed, ſome time ſince, by the author of theſe obſervations."
Uranoscopus the Star-Gazer constellation's extent is proportioned well to its starry components, according to Hill's design. "The conſtellation is of conſiderable extent, and, in proportion to the ſpace it occupies in the heavens, is not ill furniſhed with ſtars. Theſe are happily enough diſpoſed to represent the figure, and the conſtellation is in this the more marked, that it takes in all the viſible ſtars in that part of the ſpace which it occupies; and without any forcing of the out-line, does not leave one out of anywhere."
Uranoscopus the Star-Gazer presents a distinctive celestial outline. "The figure is that of a fiſh with a large head, the eyes looking upward, a body very thick toward the head, but thinner all the way to the tail, and that fin a broad one."
Uranoscopus neighbors with Auriga the Charioteer, Cancer the Crab, Gemini the Twins and Lynx the Lynx. The celestial Star-Gazer's position configures well with its neighborhood. "It is very well marked in its place in the heavens, for it is over the head of Gemini, and under the belly of the Lynx, the reſt of the conſtellations about it are Auriga and Cancer, there is a ſmall ſpace left between theſe four conſtellations, in the middle part of which, and not very near to any of them, are the arrangement of ſtars, now thrown into a conſtellation, under the form of the Uranoſcope; that ſign is thence detached from all of them, and, as it were, ſituated at equal diſtance among them."
The Star-Gazer swims celestially under Lynx the Lynx, with its head tilted upward toward the Lynx's front leg. The Star-Gazer's head nears the right arm of its western neighbor, Auriga the Charioteer. Uranoscopus passes above Gemini the Twins, with its body over Castor's head and his upraised left arm. Cancer the Crab's northern legs lie to the east-southeast of the Star-Gazer's tail.
"The belly of the Lynx runs almoſt parallel with the body of this fiſh, its head is under the fore legs of the Lynx, and at a ſmall diſtance from the right ſhoulder of Auriga; its tail is juſt over the head of Gemini, and its body over the extended arm of one of them, that which holds the dart. Cancer is at ſome little diſtance behind its tail, and below it."
Uranoscopus the Star-Gazer encompasses 17 "conſpicous ſtars . . . and of theſe there are ſeveral very conſiderable." Six stars shape the head, with "one at the extremity of the head, and a little behind it another ſmaller, at ſome little diſtance behind theſe ſtand two in the place of the eyes, both conſpicuous and bright, a little beyond theſe are two placed on the lower out-line." Four cluster at the head-trunk transition. Six scatter across the trunk, with "two . . . near the upper out-line, and one . . . in the middle; beyond theſe is a ſingle one near the middle, then two others" in the lower trunk. The 17th, which centers the tail's fork, "is ſmaller than the reſt, but it is ſufficiently conſpicuous."
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| John Hill's Uranoscopus the Star-Gazer constellation emerges from unformed stars in the space between Auriga the Charioteer, Cancer the Crab, Gemini the Twins and Lynx the Lynx; John Hill, Urania, or, A Compleat View of the Heavens, vol. I (M.DCC.LIV [1754]), between third and fourth of six pages on Gemini: Public Domain, via Google Books Read for Free |
Uranoscopus the Star-Gazer encompasses 17 "conſpicous ſtars . . . and of theſe there are ſeveral very conſiderable." Six stars shape the head, with "one at the extremity of the head, and a little behind it another ſmaller, at ſome little diſtance behind theſe ſtand two in the place of the eyes, both conſpicuous and bright, a little beyond theſe are two placed on the lower out-line." Four cluster at the head-trunk transition. Six scatter across the trunk, with "two . . . near the upper out-line, and one . . . in the middle; beyond theſe is a ſingle one near the middle, then two others" in the lower trunk. The 17th, which centers the tail's fork, "is ſmaller than the reſt, but it is ſufficiently conſpicuous."
Nine of Uranoscopus the Star-Gazer's stars are identified by David Harper, once an astronomer specializing in celestial mechanics and positional astronomy but now a genome researcher, and his wife, astronomer L. (Lynne) M. Stockman, in "Uranoscopus -- The Star-Gazer Fish," posted on their Obliquity website. Gemini the Twins constellation accounts for two stars: Omicron Geminorum (ο Geminorum; abbreviated Omicron Gem, ο Gem) and Pi Gem (π Gem). Auriga the Charioteer provides seven stars: 63 Aurigae (abbreviated 63 Auri), 65 Aur, 66 Aur, Psi2 Aur (ψ2 Aur), Psi4 Aur (ψ4 Aur), Psi5 Aur (ψ5 Aur) and Psi7 Aur (ψ7 Aur).
Uranoscopus the Star-Gazer resides in the northern celestial hemisphere's second quadrant (NQ2). The celestial Tortoise shares the quadrant with another Hill-invented constellations, Lumbricus the Earthworm.
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has not designated Uranoscopus the Star-Gazer as an official constellation. Its unofficial status places Uranoscopus in the category of an obsolete constellation, also known synonymously as defunct, extinct, forgotten or former. Yet, an unofficial status does not erase the concerned constellation from the night skies. Skygazers seeking the perciform constellation still may discern Uranoscopus in its sheltered location east of Auriga the Charioteer, between Lynx the Lynx and Gemini the Twins.
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| John Hill equated his Testudo the Tortoise constellation with a member of the Testudo genus of tortoises native to North Africa, Western Asia and Europe; depictions (last row) of two species of tortoises in the Testudo genus, in John Hill, An History of Animals (1752), Plate 6, opposite page 113: Biodiversity Heritage Library (BioDivLibrary), Public Domain, via Flickr |
Acknowledgment
My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.
Dedication
Dedication
This post is dedicated to the memory of our beloved blue-eyed brother, Charles, who guided the creation of the Met Opera and Astronomy posts on Earth and Space News. We memorialized our brother in "Our Beloved Blue-Eyed Brother, Charles, With Whom We Are Well Pleased," published on Earth and Space News on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, an anniversary of our beloved father's death.
Image credits:
Image credits:
John Hill's Uranoscopus the Star-Gazer constellation (center-lower center) inhabits the northern celestial hemisphere's second quadrant (NQ2) and shares the quadrant with one other Hill-invented constellation, Lumbricus the Earthworm (upper-center left): Ultima Thulean, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Northern_Hemisphere_Hill's_Constellations.png
John Hill's Uranoscopus the Star-Gazer constellation emerges from unformed stars in the space between Auriga the Charioteer, Cancer the Crab, Gemini the Twins and Lynx the Lynx; John Hill, Urania, or, A Compleat View of the Heavens, vol. I (M.DCC.LIV [1754]), between third and fourth of six pages on Gemini: Public Domain, via Google Books Read for Free @ https://www.google.com/books/edition/Urania_or_a_compleat_view_of_the_Heavens/n_ReAAAAcAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1; Ultima Thulean, CC BY SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Uranoscopus_Constellation.jpg
John Hill equated his Testudo the Tortoise constellation with a member of the Testudo genus of tortoises native to North Africa, Western Asia and Europe; depictions (last row) of two species of tortoises in the Testudo genus, in John Hill, An History of Animals (1752), Plate 6, opposite page 113: Biodiversity Heritage Library (BioDivLibrary), Public Domain, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary/50375464882/; Public Domain, via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/56071496
For further information:
For further information:
Forde, Tanya C. "Cygnus Constellation Guide -- The Graceful, Night-Sky Swan." Love the Night Sky > Astronomy.
Available @ https://lovethenightsky.com/cygnus-constellation-guide/
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Harper, David; and L. (Lynne) M. Stockman. "Uranoscopus -- The Star-Gazer Fish. Unofficial Abbreviation: Ura. Genitive: Uranoscopi. Origin: John Hill." Obliquity > Sky Eye > The Constellations > Extinct Constellations.
Available @ https://www.obliquity.com/skyeye/88const/Ura.html
Available @ https://www.obliquity.com/skyeye/88const/Ura.html
Hill, John. "Fishes Series 4: The Stargazer or Unranoscapus." Plate 15, opposite page 274. An History of Animals: Containing Descriptions of the Birds, Beasts, Fishes, and Insects, of the Several Parts of the World; and Including Accounts of the Several Classes of Animalcules, Visible Only by the Assistance of Microscopes. London: Printed for Thomas Osborne, in Gray's-Inn, M.DCCLII [1752].
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/56071496
Available via Flicker @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary/50375464882/
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/56071496
Available via Flicker @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary/50375464882/
Hill, John. An History of Animals: Containing Descriptions of the Birds, Beasts, Fishes, and Insects, of the Several Parts of the World; and Including Accounts of the Several Classes of Animalcules, Visible Only by the Assistance of Microscopes. London: Printed for Thomas Osborne, in Gray's-Inn, M.DCCLII [1752].
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/56071277
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/56071277
Hill, John. "Trachinus: Trachinus cirris multis in maxilla inferiore. The Trachinus, with numerous cirri on the under jaw. The Star-gazer." Pages 263-264. An History of Animals: Containing Descriptions of the Birds, Beasts, Fishes, and Insects, of the Several Parts of the World; and Including Accounts of the Several Classes of Animalcules, Visible Only by the Assistance of Microscopes. London: Printed for Thomas Osborne, in Gray's-Inn, M.DCCLII [1752].
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/56071484
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/56071484
Hill, John. "Uranoscopus, the Star-Gazer." Urania, or, A Compleat View of the Heavens, Containing the Antient and Modern Astronomy, in Form of a Dictionary. London: T. Gardner, M.DCC.LIV [1754].
Available via Google Books @ https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/lzigAAAAMAAJ?hl=en
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_lzigAAAAMAAJ/page/n612/mode/1up
Available via Google Books @ https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/lzigAAAAMAAJ?hl=en
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_lzigAAAAMAAJ/page/n612/mode/1up
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Available via Google Books @ https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/lzigAAAAMAAJ?hl=en
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_lzigAAAAMAAJ/
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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/11/naturalist-john-hill-named-earthworm.html
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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/09/naturalist-john-hill-named-sea-horse.html
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