Julie Power writes today in the Sydney Morning Herald on the acquisition
of a print of a letter by Andrea Corsali where he describes and depicts Crux in 1516.
Corsali was an adventurer who saw Crux for the first time near the Cape of Good Hope in 1516
and wrote about it to his patron, Giuliana de Medici.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Julie Power, Sydney Morning Herald
Now a rare letter containing Corsali's illustration and description of the Southern Cross has been acquired by the State Library of NSW for $1.19 million with support from its foundation.
"The crosse is so fayre and bewtiful that none other heavenly signe may be compared to it," Corsali wrote in secret to his patron Giuliana de Medici.
The letter, written in Latin in 1516 and translated into English in 1555, is thought to be the earliest printed documentation by a European of the Southern Cross, and is one of the library's most significant acquisitions in recent years.
Corsali, an Italian who was on a Portuguese voyage from Lisbon to India, was the first to describe the five stars as a cross that pointed towards the South Pole. He understood its importance as a navigational tool, writing immediately to Medici that the five stars were in the part of heaven "contrary to the north pole". This helped locate the South Pole.
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Corsali included a sketch of the constellation, including what appears to be a depiction
of the the dark dust lanes including the Coalsack by way of a couple of rocks.
Unless I am misinterpreting it, his depiction of other stars in the field at a glance seems out, including the positioning of two bright
stars that might be the pointers.
But perhaps it is some artistic expression of the southern sky? Curious what insight other readers might have.
Article here :-
https://www.smh.com.au/national/olde...05-p50kdc.html
