Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr

After giving up his legal studies he then spent two years travelling and studying in Germany, Holland, and England, spending time at Utrecht, Leiden, Oxford, and London, during which time he learned to speak French, Italian, and English.

His publications covered topics on mathematics and astronomy, including sundials, spherical trigonometry, and celestial maps and globes.

The atlas contained 30 plates, 20 of which treated astronomical themes and historical development, including Copernicus's and Tycho Brahe's cosmological systems, illustration of planetary motion and the Solar System, and a detail of the Moon's surface based on telescopic advances.

[2] The remaining ten plates were actual star charts, including hemispheres centered on the equatorial poles.

[2] Two other plates were hemispheres centered on the ecliptic poles with an external orientation (i.e., representing the stars as if seen from the outside looking in, as opposed to from the perspective of an earth observer, the preferred orientation for modern celestial maps), featuring contemporary illustrations of European observatories, which Doppelmayr visited during his travels.