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I have had one of these in my room for decades: Map of The Universe

I don't have the booklet that seems to usually come with it, can someone explain to me what the months (with days below it) and hours mean? I imagine it has to do with the position of the earth and therefore the part of the universe that is possibly observable, but I get confused when I try to get the months in the equation.

Thank you very much

rafael.js
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I am Tomás the guy that designed it following astrocartography traditions. The thing that makes it confusing is that the position of the little suns in the Ecliptic are plotted against the stars at 12 noon GMT each day (the ephemeris) meaning that the stars behind it are NOT visible because of the sunlight. The stars that are visible at 12 midnight (Obviously depending on your latitude) are the ones completely opposite. This confusion comes from the ancient times when it was believed that the Sun rotated around the earth. Hope it helps a little.

Tomas Filsinger
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    Hi Tomás, welcome to AstronomySE. I note from your website that over 600,000 of your Mapas del Universo have been sold - hopefully leading to thousands of youngsters becoming interested in astronomy. It's a delight to have the actual designer provide a personal note about this map! :-) – Chappo Hasn't Forgotten Mar 04 '19 at 06:54
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    Hey Tomás, it's an honor to have you here. I have your Map of the Universe on my wall since I was 11 (I am 29 now), I always gazed at it for a long time dreaming about the constellations I saw there, feeling good when it glowed at night in my dark room. It even gave me my teenager nickname, Delphinus (my favorite constellation). I never though I would be able to thank you for all this. Thank you a lot! – rafael.js Mar 05 '19 at 04:18
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The hours show the lines of right ascension, where right ascension is one of two coordinates used to specify a point on the sky. (The other coordinate is declination, measured in degrees from the celestial equator.) Right ascension and declination are similar to longitude and latitude on the Earth.

The month and day show the right ascension of the Sun on a given date. The dotted circle passing through the zodiacal constellations (Pisces, Aries, etc.) is the actual path of the Sun (the ecliptic). Therefore, the position of the Sun on any day can be determined from the chart.

JohnHoltz
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Rafael and friends ;)) Here is the link to download the booklet that came with the original poster.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/4ub9nnket6ki888/AADg_FCISkrbKdyNYPTLwfOLa?dl=0

I have finished a new and improved version of the Map that I hope to get printed this year. It now contains the calendar rounds of; 24 Hrs, the week (Visible Planets) and the 365 days within the months with their Sumerian-Babylonian-Greek-Roman patron Gods and Goddesses), the Octaederis (8 Earth- 5 Venus cycle), the 25,800 yr.12 "ages" Precession cycle and the 60 Galactic years since the big bang.

Tomas Filsinger
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