Zodiac, Constellations by Gert Hilbink

About "Zodiac, Constellations"

by Gert Hilbink

About the artwork

The zodiac or zodiac is an approximately 20-degree wide zone on the celestial sphere, within which the apparent orbits of the sun, moon and planets run.
The movement of the sun and the constant change of the starry sky has fascinated man from time immemorial. The night sky rotates from east to west around a fixed pole each day. In the northern hemisphere, this pole is less than one degree away from the pole star, making it easy to orient oneself. The stars around the pole star move in a concentric circle around it, so that new constellations are constantly appearing on the eastern horizon and setting again in the west. Just as the sun marks day and night, it also returns to the same place in the starry sky after the passage of a year. Based on these observations, various ancient civilizations drew up calendars in which the moon indicated the months and the orbit of the sun determined the period of a year. Among the oldest known constellations are the twelve of the zodiac. A special significance was attached to these signs because they formed the background, the backdrop against which the sun, moon and planets seemingly moved. This orbit, which in reality is the orbit that the earth describes around the sun, is called ecliptic. Want to look at other photos from my shop? Then take a look at https://www.werkaandemuur.nl/index/shop/nl/Gert-Hilbink/shop/27125
If you have any questions about a photo you can email me at hilbinkmeijer@ziggo.nl