"Why did not somebody teach me the constellations, and make me at home in the starry heavens, which are always overhead, and which I don't know to this day?"
-Thomas Carlyle

By special request I'm posting the information below on the many beautiful historical celestial maps available online.

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Celestial cartography followed the development of human civilization and is considered a grand synthesis of art, myth and science. Historically, cartographers and astronomers sought increasing scientific exactness along with an ever richer symbolic and artistic representation of the starry sky, and as a result, produced some of the most beautiful books ever published.

Below are some of the best online exhibits showcasing historical celestial atlases.

Out of This World: The Golden Age of the Celestial Atlas
(Linda Hall Library)
Awestruck by the Majesty of the Heavens (Adler Planetarium)
Le Ciel et la Terre (Bibliotheque nationale de France)
Celestial Atlases on the Web (Universiteit Utrecht, Netherlands)
History of Astronomy (Robert Harry van Gent)
Atlas Coelestis (University of Bologna)

I hope you enjoy these resources!