- This small and insignificant constellation in the southern hemisphere, representing an engraver’s chisel, is one of the inventions of the 18th-century French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille. He introduced it on his map of the southern stars published in 1756, where he gave it the French name les Burins (although in the accompanying star catalogue it was listed as Burin, singular). On the second edition of the map in 1763 this was Latinized to Caelum Scalptorium. In 1844 the English astronomer John Herschel proposed shortening the name to Caelum. Francis Baily adopted this suggestion in his British Association Catalogue of 1845, and it has been known as Caelum ever since.
- Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 (Wikipedia)
The solar eclipse of August 21, 2017, dubbed the “Great American Eclipse” by some media, was a total solar eclipse visible within a band that spanned the contiguous United States from the Pacific to the Atlantic coasts. It was also visible as a partial solar eclipse from as far north as Nunavut in northern Canada to as far south as northern South America. In northwestern Europe and Africa, it was partially visible in the late evening. In northeastern Asia, it was partially visible at sunrise.