Astronomical Images : Eclipses

Georg von Peuerbach

Astronomical Images

<p style='text-align: justify;'>Georg Peuerbach (Georgius Aunpekh) was born in Peuerbach, near Linz. He studied at the University of Vienna, obtaining his BA in 1448 and MA in 1453. He held positions as court astrologer to the king of Hungary, and then to Emperor Frederick III. The <i>Tabulae eclypsium</i>, originally dedicated to Johann Vitez, Bishop of Grosswardein (now Oradea, Hungary), were probably completed around 1459 and is Peuerbach's most impressive work. The tables allow the calculation of the course of the Sun and Moon and therefore the prediction of eclipses. Although they were based on the <i>Alphonsine Tables</i>, they also contain new computations by Peuerbach. This unusual title-page for <i>Tabulae eclypsium</i> shows different types of eclipses, and is taken from the <i>editio princeps </i>which comprised Peuerbach's <i>Tabulae eclypsium</i> and Regiomontanus's <i>Tabula primi mobilis</i>. Between the two woodcuts, there is an Imperial declaration forbidding anyone from reprinting the book or selling this title printed by somebody else for ten years. The penalty of infringing this edict was confiscation of all copies and a fine of fifty gold coins for each copy of the counterfeited book printed or sold. This was known as a privilege that publishers could take out from rulers to protect their investment in a printed book.</p>