Lacaille’s Antlia
On Lacaille’s original 1756 planisphere Antlia was shown as a simple single-cylinder pump for evacuating a glass jar and was named la Machine Pneumatique. This illustration comes from a copy of Lacaille’s planisphere published in the Atlas Céleste of Jean-Baptiste Fortin. Lacaille Latinized the name to Antlia Pneumatica on the second edition of the planisphere in 1763, although the depiction of it remained unchanged. For a zoomable version of the second edition, see here.
(Image: Author’s collection)
