Hevelius’s depiction of Vulpecula
Vulpecula, the fox, carries a goose, Anser, towards the multi-headed monster Cerberus in this illustration from the Firmamentum Sobiescianum star atlas of Johannes Hevelius published in 1690. Although Hevelius named the two figures ‘Anser’ and ‘Vulpecula’ on the atlas, in his star catalogue and its introduction, Prodromus Astronomiae, he titled the constellation ‘Vulpecula cum Ansere’. Hevelius drew his constellations in reverse, as they would be seen on a celestial globe, so here the goose is to the left of the fox.
