The 18th and 19th century saw an exponential growth in the number of identified stars due to technological improvements. From ancient times until around 1600, the number of identified stars remained at around 1000. But by 1800, scientists had identified over 100,000 stars. American mathematician and astronomer Elijah Burritt published his atlas as a poor man's substitute for a celestial globe. Designed for teaching astronomy, the atlas illustrated stars visible to the naked eye.