Lacaille’s Microscopium
Lacaille’s depiction of Microscopium, named le Microscope, shows a simple early form of
the instrument. This illustration comes from a copy of Lacaille’s original chart of the southern skies published in 1756 contained in the
popular-level Atlas Céleste of Jean Fortin. On the second edition of Lacaille’s chart, published in 1763, the name was Latinized to Microscopium; for a
zoomable version of the second edition, see here. (Image © Ian Ridpath.)
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