Celestial cartography,
uranography or
star cartography is the fringe of
astronomy and branch of
cartography concerned with mapping stars, galaxies, and other
astronomical objects on the
celestial sphere. Measuring the position and light of charted objects requires a variety of instruments and techniques. These techniques have developed from angle measurements with
quadrants and the unaided eye, through
sextants combined with lenses for light magnification, up to current methods which include computer automated space telescopes. Uranographers have historically produced planetary position tables, star tables and star maps for use by both amateur and professional astronomers. More recently computerized star maps have been compiled, and automated positioning of telescopes is accomplished using databases of stars and other astronomical objects.