Cancer, from John Flamsteed's 'Atlas Coelestis mb-width 5449 showing the staircase and landing

showing the staircase and landing

Carved heads decorate the spandrels

This is a satire on the Corporation of Windsor

with figures on horseback

Section of the animal's heart

Cancer, from John Flamsteed's 'Atlas Coelestis mb-width 5449 showing the staircase and landingThe constellation Cancer (the crab), with Leo (the lion), Gemini (the twins), Hydra and Canis Minor. Map 4 from John Flamsteed's Atlas Coelestis, or star atlas (London, 1729). This was the first celestial atlas based on telescopic observations. Published posthumously, it was the work of the Astronomer Royal John Flamsteed FRS (1646 1719), and used the catalogue of 2935 stars in his 1725 Historia Coelestis Britannica. Original: engraving. 1729