Star Lore

Psalterium Georgii

George's Harp

Psalterium Georgii is a now obsolete constellation designed in 1789 by Maximilian Hell.

In 1781, British astronomer William Herschel discovered a new member of our planetary system, the planet Uranus.

In 1789, Hungarian born astronomer Maximilian Hell, first director of the Vienna Observatory, dedicated a "celestial monument" (Stern-Denkmal in German) to William Herschel.

Hell's "monument" consisted of two telescopes, Tubus Hershelii Major and Tubus Hershelii Minor in places close to the location of Herschel's discovery and of a small constellation honoring Herschel's patron, British king George III.

https://www.universeguide.com/star/16852/10tauri 4.29 https://www.universeguide.com/star/18788/35eridani https://www.universeguide.com/star/16989/109geri https://www.universeguide.com/star/18859/164geri https://www.universeguide.com/star/16266/93geri Tubus Hershelii Major, Tubus Hershelii Minor and the orbit of Uranus on
Hell's chart (Highlights done by the author); Source: atlascoelestis.com
Hell's (left) and Bode's (right) versions of Herschel's Telescope
Sources: Hell's Charts at atlascoelestis.com and
Bode's Uranographia at atlascoelestis.com

Bode omitted Tubus Hershelii Minor. As for Tubus Hershelii Major, he replaced Hell's inaccurate drawing with a precise rendering of Herschel’s 7-feet reflector and called it Telescopium Herschelii.

There have been other inaccurate presentations of the telescope (most notably 1824 in Uranias Mirror), but in one way or another, the constellation survived for over 100 years Eventually, it was left out in 1928, when the International Astronomical Union settled on today's 88 Constellations.

Sources: Wikipedia, Ian Ridpath, atlascoelestis.com

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