Humankind’s fascination with the stars

Mesopotamian Astronomy  The Mesopotamians had two sets of constellations:  The Divine set representing their mythology. These constellations changed depending on which gods were dominate. Three constellations that remain are Taurus, Leo, Scorpio.  The rustic set representing the calendar for farming, and the everyday life of the people. e.g. They started plowing the spring with the helical rising of the mul-Apin (Plow or Triangulum).

Egyptian Astronomy  The Egyptians used the rising of Sothis (Sirius) before Sun at the summer solstice to mark the new year, and the advent of the flooding of the Nile.  Many of the Egyptian temples and pyramids were built in alignment with stars and constellations.  Egyptian astronomers were known by the Greeks to be able to predict solar eclipses with a great deal of accuracy.

Egyptian star chart This chart was found on the ceiling of the tomb of Senmut, vizier of Queen Hatshepsut. Dated at late spring 1534 b.c., It records a unique pattern of planetary positions, and a solar eclipse that occurred around the same time. The planets, except for Mars, were closely positioned within a certain sector of the sky.

Arabian Astronomy  Many constellations of the rustic set of Mesopotamian constellations are found among the Arabian star charts.  Pre-Islamic Arabs used the rising and setting of specific stars or anwa’ to mark the times of seasonal changes.  There were 28 anwa’ periods throughout the year, along with the 28 lunar mansions. astrolabe by Abd al-Karim al-Misri with pictorial representations of the 28 lunar mansions and 12 signs of the zodiac

Greek Astronomy  Most, if not all, of the divine set of Mesopotamian constellations were used by the Greeks in their star charts. This is one of the major sources for the constellations in the zodiac.  Other Greek constellations originated as markers for sea navigation. Large, easily identified constellations marked the poles and the equator.

Classical Greek star charts The Northern Hemisphere The Southern Hemisphere

Hipparchus of Rhodes  Hipparchus devised the celestial grid system by which astronomers record the locations of star in modern star catalogs. He devised that grid system as a way to systematically chart the stars. His motivation was seeing what he thought was a new star in the Scorpio constellation in 135 b.c.  He also calculated distances from the earth to the sun, and from the earth to the moon by measuring shadows at various locations during eclipses.

Bibliography  John H. Rogers, Origins of the ancient constellations, Journal of the British Astronomical Association, vol.108, no.1, p.9-28, 02/1998.  Ove von Spaeth, Dating Egypt’s oldest star map, Sunday, August 01, 2010, mapdate_en.asphttp:// mapdate_en.asp  Gary David Thompson, Astronomical Artifacts and Cuneiform Tablets, etc, Saturday, July 24, 2010, 13.html 13.html  Gary David Thompson, Astronomical Artifacts and Cuneiform Tablets, etc, Monday, June 14, html 21.html