On 2015-04-10 8:55 AM, Christopher Wilke wrote:
However, Weiss was
certainly employed by the Sobieski house in Rome and it was Jan
Sobieski who had previously lead the army that broke the Ottoman siege.
As a lutenist and astronomer I'm always interested in links between my
two loves. The constellation Scutum, just north of Scorpius, was
originally called "Scutum Sobieski," which means "Sobieski's Shield," by
Johannes Hevelius in 1684 in reference to Jan III Sobieski's victory at
the Battle of Vienna the previous year. Jan III died in 1696.
Interesting that Hevelius realized only a year after it happened how
significant this battle was. Hevelius himself, in his day job was mayor
of Gdansk, so there was undoubtedly a political motive in naming a
constellation after Sobieski!
Weiss was born in 1687, the year Hevelius died, and died in 1750.
Geoff
--
Geoff Gaherty
Foxmead Observatory
Coldwater, Ontario, Canada
http://www.gaherty.ca
http://starrynightskyevents.blogspot.com/
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