The celestial sphere is a map of the sky that has latitude and longitude. As this allows astronomers to precisely locate any celestial object, it is still useful today.

The celestial sphere is an imaginary sphere of gigantic radius with the earth located at its center. The poles of the celestial sphere are aligned with the poles of the Earth. The celestial equator lies along the celestial sphere in the same plane that includes the Earth’s equator.

Celestial sphere, the apparent surface of the heavens, on which the stars seem to be fixed. For the purpose of establishing coordinate systems to mark the positions of heavenly bodies, it can be considered a real sphere at an infinite distance from the Earth.

John Samuel Slater

The armillary sphere survives as useful for teaching, and may be described as a skeleton celestial globe, the series of rings representing the great circles of the heavens, and revolving on an axis within a horizon.

In the early 1800’s, the sign was removed from the national flag when Brazil gained its independence. However, it was replaced in 1911 after Portugal became a Republic. You can still purchase armillary spheres today, although some of them are extremely expensive, especially if they are antiques.

In the west, the armillary sphere was invented by the Greek astronomer Eratosthenes in approximately 225 BCE; however, it was created by the Chinese astronomers Shi Shen and Gan De in the 4thcentury BCE.

Armillary sphere, early astronomical device for representing the great circles of the heavens, including in the most elaborate instruments the horizon, meridian, Equator, tropics, polar circles, and an ecliptic hoop. The sphere is a skeleton celestial globe, with circles divided into degrees for angular measurement.

Armillary Sphere is nearly a staple card in non-green EDH because of the consistency it creates. Not only are your colors fixed, but you’re gaurenteed not to miss your next two lands drops. Seeing it in your opening 7 makes a two land hand not only keepable, but good.

Stationary Mount. A type of mount that keeps the sphere and full meridian affixed to the globes base.

Replogle wants to help you keep your globe as up to date and accurate as the day you bought it. As a Replogle globe owner, you are eligible for 50% off the retail value of a new globe ball or ball and ring through our Updatable Globe Program.

Simply put, a meridian is a ring that encompasses the globe. The meridian is used to mount a globe to its stand. Many meridians contain latitude (coordinate) markings on them, which start at the equator 0° and run to 90° at the north and south pole.

Most antique globes you find today are a bit younger though. Age can have a great influence on the value of a globe: while a good condition 30-inch globe from the 1930s-1960s can be valued at as much as a thousand euro, a tiny pocket globe from the late 18th century can be worth fifteen times more.

A pair of Dutch library globes by the man regarded as father of western globe making, Willem Janszoon Blaeu (1571-1638), now rank the most expensive work of art ever sold at auction in Holland. One of the pair of Blaeu globes that made 680,000 euros (£567,000) at Christie’s Amsterdam.

Dating a Globe The older, the better. The easiest way to tell the age of a globe is by the countries on the globe. Here’s my 5-point checklist to be sure the globe is vintage (20 years or older): USSR – If the globe includes Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), you know it is from 1990 or earlier.

To clean the globe, wipe off the entire ball with a clean, dry, soft cloth. Stay away from sponges or paper towels since the texture of these items may rub off the map image or scratch any other surfaces. To clean the pedestal, wipe off the stand and any other metal pieces with a damp rag.

Snow globes, a popular collectors item, can over time become discolored or the water can turn cloudy. This is usually do to the build up of algae in the water. The cloudy color can also be caused by a build up of dust that gathers within the globe and, therefore discolors the water.

Allow the snow globe to sit for five to 10 minutes or until all the snow and glitter has settled at the top of the glass in the snow globe. Use a turkey baster or suction device to remove the water from the snow globe and discard in the sink. You will fill up the baster several times to remove all the water.

One reason snow globe water may turn yellow is because improper water was used when it was filled. Over time, the sunlight can virtually evaporate the water from inside the globe, and encourage bacteria to grow in non-distilled water.

Clean out the glass carefully on the inside, then replace the water with 80-percent distilled water and 20-percent glycerin, as well as the “snow.” Place the base back on the globe, seal it with a waterproof sealant and let it set for at least two hours.

glycerin

Some snow globes are filled with clear water at room temperature. Some globes are filled with distilled water. If the water is too hot or too cold it will create condensation on the inside and outside of the globe.

If this happens to your snowglobe, I would suggest spooning out the glitter that has floated to the top. You may notice that some of the glitter clumps together but after a day or two the glitter should started to seperate. If you notice that the glitter is still clumping, you may have used too much glycerin.

Fill the jar almost to the top with distilled water. Do not use tap water, as it can turn yellow over time. (Note: we can attest to this, a year later. If you don’t have distilled water and you can’t wait, I’d consider going a dry route, with sugar and glitter, instead.)

A snow globe is a suspension mixture because when you shake it the snow is everywhere and over time it settles down.