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A large rectangular woodcut headpiece shows ornate floral scrolls and foliage. Two central figures, possibly cherubs or mythological beings, flank a decorative central element.
Dedicatory Letter to the Most Eminent Cardinal Louis-Alphonse de Plessis-Richelieu, Archbishop of Lyon. Cardinal Louis-Alphonse (1582 to 1653) was the elder brother of the famous Prime Minister to Louis XIII, Cardinal Armand Jean de Plessis, Duke of Richelieu.
Introductory Chapter. page 1
On the Spherical Doctrine of Astronomy.
Chap. 1. What the Sphere is, and what it consists of. page 3
2. On the so-called Celestial Globe, insofar as it is the same as the Sphere. 4
3. On the Earth represented in the middle of the Sphere. 5
4. On the Axis and Poles, which are called the Poles of the World. ibid. The Latin "ibid." or "ibidem" means "in the same place," indicating the same page number as the previous entry.
5. On the Circles of the Sphere, and first concerning the Horizon. 6
6. On the Meridian. 7
7. On the Equator. ibid.
8. On the Tropics. 8
9. On the Polar Circles. ibid.
10. On the Colures. ibid. The colures are two great circles that intersect at the celestial poles and pass through the equinoctial and solstitial points.
11. On the Zodiac and the Ecliptic. 9
12. On the Signs of the Zodiac. ibid.
13. On certain other Circles understood to be in the Sphere, such as those called Vertical, of Altitude, of Distance, of Position, or of the celestial Houses. 10
14. On other Circles likewise, as in the descriptions of Gassendi:
of Declination and Latitude: where also Ascension and the Longitude of the Stars are discussed. 12
15. On the triple position of the Sphere: Right, Oblique, and Parallel. 13
16. On the Zones, and therefore on the regions of the Winds designated by the Parallel circles of the Sphere. 14
17. On Climates, and the variety of the Inhabitants of the Earth according to the Parallels. 15
18. On Twilights, which are seen at the horizon in any position of the Sphere. 16
19. On the Refractions of Stellar Rays, which occur most frequently at the horizon. ibid.
20. On the Horizontal Rising and Setting of the Stars. 17
21. On the Heliacal Rising and Setting of the Stars. 18 A heliacal rising is when a star or planet first becomes visible in the dawn sky just before sunrise, after having been obscured by the sun's brightness for a period of time.
22. On the parts of Time (the measure of which is the Primary Motion designated by the revolution of the Sphere), and first concerning the Day. ibid.
23. On the Hour. 19
24. On the Week. ibid.
25. On the Month. 20
26. On the Year. 21
27. On the Epochs of Time. 22