Abstract
Gottfried Kirch introduced Sceptrum Brandenburgicum in Acta Eruditorum (1688), the first scientific journal in the German-speaking parts of Europe published between 1682 and 1782. It appeared in the same issue in which he also suggested Pomum Imperiale (see Volume 2), presumably to honor his home state of Brandenburg in Germany. Ridpath (1989) suggested that it was “more likely” intended to glorify Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg (1688–1713) and Duke of Prussia. Kirch’s shameless elevation of a symbol of Frederick’s temporal authority to the heavens seems to have paid off: he was appointed by the Duke to the newly-created Brandenburg Society of Sciences in 1700 and made the first director of the Society’s observatory at Berlin. However, Kirch never formally took possession of the facility, dying before the new building was officially dedicated.
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Notes
- 1.
“Between the windings of Eridanus to the southwest of Orion” (Bode, 1801a); “Between Rigel in the foot of Orion and the quadrilateral figure made by the stars near the paws of Cetus, about one-fourth of the distance from Rigel” (Green, 1824); “Between Rigel and the parallelogram in the Whale, about one-fourth the distance from Rigel” (Kendall, 1845); “Between Lepus and Eridanus, and south of Orion and Taurus” (Bouvier, 1858); “Below the first bend in the River, west from Lepus” (Allen, 1899); “Just west of Lepus” (Olcott, 1911); “Near the foot of Orion in a large bend in the river Eridanus” (Ridpath, 1989).
- 2.
“[Q]uarum superior apicem sceptri occupans, sub flexura Eridani suprema, proxime infra stellam nu Bayerianam conspicua est; caeterae numero quatuor (aut verus quinque, nam tertia harum ex duabus contiguis, in unam velut coeuntibus, constat) versus extrema Orionis & ultra porriguntur.” (p. 452)
- 3.
Fortin never accepted Kirch’s constellation: it did not appear in the third edition of Flamsteed (1795), either.
- 4.
“Steht zwischen den Krümmungen des Eridans südwestwärts vom Orion, und macht sich an einigen Sternen vierter Grösse, die under einander stehen, kenntlich. Er ist 1688 von dem ersten Berlinschen Astronomen Gottfried Kirch eingenführt; ich nahm ihn 1782 in meine kleinen Himmelscharten auf, und habe ihn in den gegenwärtigen grossen Charten mit der Names-Chiffre unsers jetzt glorreich regierenden Königs bezeichnet.” (p. 17)
- 5.
Vorstellung der Gestirne, 1st ed.
- 6.
Uranographia.
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Barentine, J.C. (2016). Sceptrum Brandenburgicum. In: The Lost Constellations. Springer Praxis Books(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22795-5_24
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