Petrus Plancius | |
|---|---|
 Petrus Plancius by J. Buys/Rein. Vinkoeles (1791) | |
| Born | Pieter Platevoet 1552 |
| Died | 15 May 1622(1622-05-15) (aged 69–70) |
| Known for | Netherlandish cartography |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields |
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| Institutions | Dutch Reformed Church |
Petrus Plancius (Dutch:[ˈpeːtrʏsˈplɑŋkijʏs]; bornPieter Platevoet[ˈpitərˈplaːtəvut]; 1552 – 15 May 1622) was aDutch-Flemishastronomer,cartographer andclergyman. Born inDranouter, now inHeuvelland,West Flanders, he studiedtheology in Germany and England. At the age of 24 he became aminister in theDutch Reformed Church.
Plancius fled fromBrussels toAmsterdam to avoid religious persecution by theInquisition after the cityfell into Spanish hands in 1585. In Amsterdam he became interested innavigation andcartography and, having access to nautical charts recently brought from Portugal, he was soon recognized as an expert on safe maritime routes toIndia and the nearby "spice islands". This enabled colonies and port trade in both, including what would become theDutch East Indies, named after theDutch East India Company set up in 1602. He saw strong potential in the little-mappedArctic Sea and strongly believed in the idea of aNortheast Passage until the failure ofWillem Barentsz's third voyage in 1597 seemed to preclude its viability.
In 1592 Plancius published his best known world map, titled "Nova et exacta Terrarum Orbis Tabula geographica ac hydrographica". Only one remaining copy is known to exist, preserved at theColegio del Corpus Christi inValencia, Spain. This copy is not easily accessible to visitors.[1] Plancius also published journals and navigational guides and developed a new method for determininglongitude. He also promoted theMercator projection for navigational maps. Plancius was an investor in theDutch East India Company, for which he drew over 100 maps.
Plancius was closely acquainted withHenry Hudson, an explorer of theNew World.
Plancius prepared the map,Exacta & accurata delinatio… regionibus China, Cauchinchina, Camboja, sive Champa, Syao, Malacca, Arracan & Pegu, published inJan Huygen van Linschoten's popular book,Itinerario (1596).[2]
In 1589 Plancius collaborated with the Amsterdam cartographerJacob van Langren on a 32.5-cm celestial globe, which, using the sparse information available about southern celestial features, depictedCrux (the southern cross),Triangulum Australe (the southern triangle), and theMagellanic Clouds (Nubecula Major andMinor).
In 1595 Plancius trainedPieter Dirkszoon Keyser, the chief pilot on theHollandia, to make astronomical observations to fill in the blank area around the south celestial pole on European maps of the southern sky. Keyser died inJava the following year – the expedition had many casualties – but his catalogue of 135 stars,[3] probably developed with the help of Keyser's colleagueFrederick de Houtman,[4] was delivered to Plancius when the remaining ships returned. These stars appear as 12 new southernconstellations,[4] on a 35-cm celestial globe designed by Plancius in late 1597 (or early 1598) and produced in collaboration with the Amsterdam cartographerJodocus Hondius the Elder. The 12 new constellations (mostly referring to animals and subjects described in natural history books and travellers' journals of his day) areApis the Bee (later changed toMusca byLacaille),Apus the Bird of Paradise,Chamaeleon,Dorado the Goldfish (or Swordfish),Grus the Crane,Hydrus the Small Water Snake,Indus the Indian,Pavo the Peacock,Phoenix,Triangulum Australe the Southern Triangle,Tucana the Toucan, andVolans the Flying Fish. (The Southern Triangle and Southern Cross were reported as asterisms by earlier navigators and appear on earlier charts,[5] but the globe of 1598 is the first surviving source that plots their locations reasonably accurately.) Also notable is the inclusion ofAchernar as Alpha Eridani.
These constellations, together with the constellationColumba illustrated by Plancius on his large wall map of the world of 1592, were then incorporated in 1603 byJohann Bayer in his sky atlas, theUranometria.
In 1612 (or 1613) Plancius introduced the following eight constellations on a 26.5-cm celestial globe published in Amsterdam byPieter van der Keere:Apes the Bee,[6]Camelopardalis the Giraffe (often interpreted as a Camel),[6]Cancer Minor the Small Crab,Euphrates Fluvius et Tigris Fluvius the Rivers Euphrates and Tigris,Gallus the Cock,Jordanis Fluvius the River Jordan,Monoceros the Unicorn[6] andSagitta Australis the Southern Arrow. Of the latter constellations, onlyCamelopardalis andMonoceros are still found on modern star charts, and recognized by theIAU.[7]
Theminor planet 10648 Plancius commemorates his contributions in celestial and terrestrial cartography.
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