Posts Tagged lunar cycle

Egyptian Astronomy

Apr 29

Posted by Nikolai Alex in Guide | No Comments

The subject of Egyptian astronomy is, like every other aspect in the history of Egypt, extremely fascinating and mind-expanding. This is the culture that created the Great Pyramids. This is also the culture that formed one of the most complex irrigation systems ever. This is the very same culture whose queen once had an entire cosmetics factory build next to the Dead Sea. It is little wonder that Egyptian astronomy is yet another example of a culture that was light years ahead of its time.

The constellation we know as “Orion” has in fact been known as such for thousands of years, back when the Greeks first bestowed the name upon it. In Ancient Greece, Orion was one of their heroes, hovering in the night sky for eternity. The Egyptians saw this same constellation and saw a figure as well. In Egyptian astronomy, this was one of their gods, “Osiris”. This was their god of the afterlife.

In Egyptian astronomy, the sun was in fact more than one god. Depending on its position in the sky, the sun could have been Horas, Re, or Atum. This may be history’s earliest documented case of schizophrenia, beating even The Father, The Son, and The Holy Ghost.

What may surprise many people is the fact that, in Egyptian astronomy, there was a twelve-month calendar that comprised a year of 365 days. Does that sound familiar? They used the tide of the Nile to determine a lunar cycle, since the moon is the reason that tides ebb and flow. This is reminiscent of many cultures throughout history, where the twenty-eight day cycle of the moon is a perfect barometer to gauge the passing of time.

The North Star is another star that has factored in the astronomy of nearly every culture. This makes sense, considering it is the brightest star in the sky. It is also always above the North Pole, and for millennia it has been used by both men on both land and sea as a compass. In Egyptian astronomy, the astronomers came to realize that Sirius’ pattern in relation to the sun happened to coincide with the annual flooding of the Nile. This led them to make perfect predictions each time and thus manage to avert disaster while simultaneously filling their subjects with awe.

It is little wonder that the astronomy of so many cultures, including ours, all have similarities. After all, we’ve all been looking at the same stars since civilization began. While our understanding of the stars has improved, our fascination with them will always remain.

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Mayan Astronomy

Apr 29

Posted by Nikolai Alex in Guide | No Comments

The history from the Mayans is really a captivating study of civilization to date. Individuals are nevertheless enthralled with this mysterious race that died out over a thousand years ago. The calendar year we use today is based on that from the Mayans. These had been a remarkably sophisticated individuals about which we are nevertheless learning to this day. Among the numerous marvels of this civilization that enraptures us; Mayan astronomy is possibly one from the a lot more enduring subjects that capture our imagination.

Mayan Astronomy is far a lot more sophisticated than most from the prevailing astronomical mindsets that had been contemporaries of this civilization. Our idea of a summer and winter “solstice” is really derived from Mayan astronomy. The scientists from the Mayan era understood the relationship between the Sun and latitudes. They built their villages in locations beneath a preset latitude in purchase to make one from the most use from the Sun and its patterns.

Venus played a large part in Mayan astronomy as well. Entire almanacs had been produced to document Venus in each moment of its cycle. Wars and battles had been timed in purchase to take advantage of Venus’ distance from Earth. For reasons not totally recognized, this planet seemed to be, to the Mayans, one from the most crucial figure within the sky. A lot more crucial even, than the Sun, according to Mayan astronomy.

Possibly the greatest example of just how sophisticated and intelligent these individuals had been is evident in their studies from the moon. The Mayans understood the pattern from the lunar cycle and actually utilized it as a timekeeping device. Since the lunar cycle is about twenty-nine and a half days, the Mayans are responsible for creating the semi-concrete structure of time recognized to us as “a month”. The lunar studies conducted in Mayan astronomy had been so in depth, actually, that accurate predictions for lunar eclipses had been made with consistent success. This is even a lot more remarkable considering that civilizations even centuries later had been nevertheless filled with awe and confusion over some thing these Mayans considered business as usual.

It’s simple to imagine an ancient culture as ‘barbaric’ or ‘primitive’, but even one from the most discriminating critic would have a tough time insulting the Mayans. The truth that we nevertheless use their lunar cycle and calendar year as our method of time-keeping shows us some thing crucial. It takes a lot more than technology and less than science to truly realize the world and achieve what is recognized as ‘wisdom’.

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