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I am trying to track down the original artist for the Zodiac diagram found here. I would like to obtain permission to use the diagram as an illustration in an astronomy book I have written.

The diagram can be found at many locations on the web, but, as far as I can tell, none of them claim copyright nor mention the diagram's original creator.

The link above appears to point to the earliest version. It is on the blog of Peter Christoforou, but there is no contact information for him listed there.

Does anyone have information that would help me track down the source of this diagram?

Spencer Rugaber
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    Good for you caring. Do you need specifically that image? It looks like the sort of thing a competent graphical artist could make in half an hour. – James K Jun 03 '21 at 04:13
  • That guy still seems active and other places list him as source of the image they use. As https://www.astronomytrek.com/ is his site, you can try some random e-mail addresses like info@ webmaster@ or so in order to reach him (the site doesn't list contact info afaik) – planetmaker Jun 03 '21 at 08:40
  • This could belong on the meta. – WarpPrime Jun 03 '21 at 13:28
  • I realized yesterday that the linked image has a problem: the asterisms on the front (lower) half are inverted. That is, they appear as if viewed from Earth rather than from the diagram's viewpoint. Consequentially, I can't use the diagram after all.

    Thank you all for your replies.

     – Spencer Rugaber Jun 05 '21 at 13:54
  • If you need one that’s properly oriented, I can make that for you rather easily. My day job is graphic designer… – Pierre Paquette Jul 06 '21 at 01:43
  • So, I have created an animation of this diagram, but with constellations to scale and in their proper position… https://ecliptiqc.ca/zodiac.php – Pierre Paquette Jul 07 '21 at 01:27

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Here is a slightly older blog post with a slightly crisper version of that image. A higher resolution version with month labels appears in a 2019 SyFy article and in various blogs dating back to 2014 or earlier. Years of missing or inadequate attribution have made the true origin difficult to determine.

The month labels correspond not to the constellations shown but to the tropical signs, 30° blocks of ecliptic longitude named after the constellations which were nearest over 2000 years ago. The signs have moved almost 30° westward due to precession since then. To avoid confusion, you should remove or replace the month labels.

If you follow James K's suggestion to create a new image, you or a collaborator could use planetarium software for accurate placement, and then it would be appropriate to credit the software.

Mike G
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