Solar Squirrel - another lost constellation

Solar Squirrel (lost constellation Sciurus Volans)

In 1810, Boston map-maker William Croswell designed the Mercator Map of the Starry Heavens.  Following the concept of the Mercator Map of the World created by Gerardus Mercator in 1569, the map flattened the spherical shape of the universe with the intention of making navigation simpler. 

The problem is that anything at the north or south poles becomes exponentially wider and disfigured. This becomes obvious in Mercator's Map of the World when the size of Africa is compared to that of Greenland.

(Visit Wikipedia for the history and mathematics of the Mercator map.)

In Croswell's design, the map distorted the constellation Camelopardis (the giraffe) to such an extent that it no longer made sense.  To remedy this, he discarded that large constellation and created Sciurus Volans, the flying squirrel, consisting of only two stars to replace it.  This constellation never appeared on any other star map.  For this reason, it was never officially recognized and became a lost constellation.

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💜 Lisa