Ancient Egyptian Astronomy

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The Pyramids Point the Way
When people think of Astronomy and Astronomical discovery, Egypt is not necessarily the first place to come to mind. However, Egypt is full of innovation regarding what we know as Astronomy as well as Astrology. The Egyptians did not merely look at the sky to admire the shining objects that appeared every evening. Instead, they analyzed the patterns emerging and the concepts of how and why behind them. They wondered what the purpose and the meaning of these beings were. In this article we are going to dive in to the ancient Egyptian thought process and what their beliefs revealed.
Individuals are most commonly familiar with the ancient Babylonian astrology signs. Beautiful symbols that have developed to influence …show more content…

Though, every morning as the sun rose the citizens believed this was the rebirth and immorality of the gods shining upon them, giving the people hope. Egyptians established different gods for each location of the sun. Around noon, the light was related to the god Ra due to the sun’s outstanding strength and brightness. Despite the attribution to the sun, gods were also believed to be the constellations, and astronomical bodies, which individuals studied in the atmosphere drifting above. The constellation Americans commonly describe as Orion, is referred to as Osiris, one of the gods of death and rebirth. Osiris was thought to be the creator of human civilization of the ancient world. Three stars create what people know as Orion’s belt. In ancient Egypt, these three starts seemed to have great significance. It was thought by the ancients that all the gods descended from the belt of Orion (or Osiris), appearing on land as regular humans. There are several theories that each star of the belt aligns precisely with the top of each great pyramids. Though pyramids were essentially built to remember the Pharaohs, and send them into the afterlife, pyramids also played a compelling role in Egyptian astronomy. Specifically, in the pyramid of Giza, the last of the seven wonders to still exist, the southernmost shafts are directed toward the god Sirius’ star, thus marking the start of a new year. Likewise, the northernmost side faces the circumpolar star which is said to represent the immortals because they never set. The main pyramid known as the pyramid of Giza points precisely toward the North. This technique was portrayed in the construction of the plethora of temples and pyramids built during the Egyptian

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