Stars: A Glimpse into Time, Myth, and Science

People have looked to the stars for information since the beginning of time. There is no way to look up on a clear night and not see the stars. Ancient astronomers recorded the positions of planets and stars. The Babylonian’s handed down this data to the Greeks. This information about the constellation system is still in use today. Stars have been used to predict the future, preserve stories of legends and myths, navigation across oceans, and mapping the constellations.
Stars are a collection of gases and elements. When enough pressure is pulled together, the star will start to glow and burn. Stars live for millions of years. Proto stars are in the process of becoming a star. When the star starts growing, however if the star doesn’t produce

When the people looked into the heavens, they wanted to see a story. They wished to explain the things happening around them. Legend tells us that the stars are great warriors and animals that God sent into heaven because he either loved or hated them. In Egypt, they aligned the pyramids to face north because they thought their Pharaohs became stars after they died. The Tower of Babel is believed to have been built as a stairway to the heavens. The Native Americans thought the constellation the Great Bear, which has the big dipper in it, to be a bear that was searching all year for a place to hibernate. Greek legend says that the constellation Orion is a lonely soldier searching for love. Sometimes the stories make it easier to see the

These shapes called constellations became stories that have been passed down generations. Within the Constellations, there are twelve signs that astrology uses today. They are known as the zodiac signs. “Each of the twelve constellations of the Zodiac represents a time of the year, roughly a month long” (Driscoll 73). There are twelve months in a year. Many people still believe that the positions of the planets and stars foretell what is going to happen. People also think that if a person is born in a certain month, they are predetermined to have a particular personality. For example, a person born between January and February is under the Aquarius zodiac sign. They are believed to be independent, inquisitive, and outgoing. All the zodiac signs have a prediction on everyone’s birthday that’s called a horoscope. Astrologers predicted the future based on where the stars and planets are in the sky. “Astrology may seem silly, but for centuries it was considered as real as any scientific fact” (Driscoll 73). Scientist has separated astrology, the study of the zodiac signs, and astronomy, the study of the heavens. They say that astronomy can be confirmed and astrology