January speaker Dr. Nick Kanas

Of epicycles and unicorns: celestial mapping in the golden age

Nick Kanas, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry at UCSF and the Veterans Hospital in San Francisco, is currently conducting research on psychosocial factors affecting astronauts and cosmonauts in space. An amateur astronomer since childhood, he has pursued the study and collection of antiquarian star atlases for over two decades. He has presented lectures for the California Map Society, as well as regional amateur astronomy associations. His upcoming articles on celestial cartography along with his collection will be published in Mercator's World and Sky and Telescope Magazine. In this slide presentation he will discuss the golden age of pictorial celestial cartography from the 1600-1800.

An article by Dr. Kanas can be found at: http://www.mercatormag.com/article.php3?i=111