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Bologna Astronomical Museum
Armillary sphere by D. Lusverg , Rome, 1744
The armillary sphere is a representation of the celestial sphere, which was
already used by the Greeks in the III century b.C. Its name comes from the
latin armilla (circle, bracelet), since it has a skeleton made of
graduated metal circles, representing the equator, the ecliptic, meridians
and parallels.
The sphere in Bologna Astronomical Museum has the name of its builder,
together with place and date of construction, engraved on the arctic polar
ring: Dominicus Lusverg f[ecit] Romae 1744. In relief on the black wooden
base is the coat-of-arms of Pope Benedict XIV, in the world the Bolognese
Prospero Lambertini.
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