Wcześniej niż Elżbieta Heweliusz: Maria Cunitia i astronomia obserwacyjna XVII stulecia

A Silesian astronomer, Maria Cunitia (1610?–1664) became known as the author of Urania propitia (1650), i.e. astronomical tables based on Johannes Kepler’s Rudolphine Tables (1627), which she adapted to facilitate their use. However, little has been said about Cunitia’s observations of the sky with the use of advanced astronomical instruments. In this paper, we intend to use all extant printed and manuscript sources to draw a picture of Cunitia as an active astronomer engaged in astronomical observations. Considering the fact that in the years 1648–1654 Cunitia and her husband, Elias von Löwen (Crätschmair, 1602?–1661), exchanged a number of letters with Johannes Hevelius (1611–1687), we will argue that Cunitia could have been an inspiration of sorts to Hevelius who sought the assistance of his second wife, Elizabeth (née Koopman, 1647–1693) married in 1663, in his own astronomical endeavours.