The Astronomia pack, printed in London in 1829 and reissued in 1831, is a playing card deck devoted entirely to the heavens. Instead of hearts and kings, each card shows a skyscape with cosmological data for a celestial body, such as its distance from the sun and orbital eccentricity, displayed on decorative swags. The suits are organised as seasons, with zodiac constellations and bodies like the Great Comet of 1680 forming the top cards. An accompanying manual, Explanation of the Celestial Cards, describes two games, Conjunction and Combination, which play similarly to whist. The anonymous inventor hoped the deck would excite young readers about astronomy and inspire awe at the design of the universe. The pack is held in the Beinecke Library at Yale and shows how playing cards were once used as a tool for teaching science.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.