Lady Astronomer and Time. The woman at right is seated on a pile of book and writing her observations on a scroll using a quill. Behind her is a globe, and a winged figure of an old man using a telescope and carrying a sickle. The winged figure may represent Time, with the old man and the sickle representing human mortality, but here also representing the passing of time measured in astronomy. The female figure may represent Urania, the muse of astronomy, usually depicted with a globe. At top right is a crescent Moon. The first working telescopes date from the early 15th century, and were used to make new discoveries about the Moon.