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Constellations
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As the night sky begins to come to life with light, stars cover the sky. When observing certain stars, they form or shape a pattern called constellations. A constellation can be defined as a group of stars forming a pattern or design that has a historical name to each and every one. Over the many years these constellations have taken names after different gods, hunters, princess, objects, and mythical animals. These constellations date back all the way to 4000 B.C. Homer was said to believe to have taken some of the patterns down in that time period for his poem. Later Eudoxus of Cnidus wrote down about forty three constellations. Eudoxus and Homer may have seen different constellations at different times since constellations change over the …show more content…
The oldest tool that affected mankind is the stars and constellations. As travelers looked at the sun they could easily tell the time of day, but with constellations, they could tell the time of month as well as the time of night. If a traveler were to look at the stars and find the constellation Pegasus or Aquarius, they would know it was October. If they were to find the constellations of Scorpius or Hercules, they would be in the month of July. These constellations can always been seen during their time of the month and provided a idea on how late or early the month is. Another way constellations have affected the world are when people traveled the on ships. If a sailor or pierot wanted to head north they would look for the Little Dipper constellation. Then, once they found that they would find the north star that would guide them through their journey. Many sailors used constellations and stars to travel to place to place and hide treasure where consultations meetup. A final example was that they helped form religious beliefs. There are constellations of gods and goddess and have a story to each one. It changed they way people believe in religion and they always had a god or goddess shape in the sky to look for in a time of need. Constellations have helped serve many people over the years and have affect the world in many more ways than
A group called the Powers had their own thrones of doom and were the “most holy gods.” They held council which shows already that order and rule was important. The Powers chose to give names to different times of the day spanning morning, afternoon and night and so on. This structure allowed for a calendar-like count of the days and years so that people could keep track of time. If the sun was visible in one position it was a certain time and they’d know that next the sun would set and then the moon would begin to rise marking the end of a
In document C, Ptolemy had a theory where the Earth was the center of the Solar System. Other scientists also had this theory when they were examining the stars and Earth's rotation. But other scientists figured out that the Sun was the center of the Solar System instead of Earth. Document D shows the zodiacs and how the stars lining up. These documents show how advance the people in the Renaissance were. Ptolemy and Copernicus were very advanced as well when they had their theories on the Solar System. Also when they would use the stars and constellations for the zodiac symbolizations (Doc
This book focuses on different types of calendars from a number of different places all around the world. This specific chapter, even more specifically this section, focuses on the Mayan calendar. These calendars were written by honored members of their aristocracy and were held to be of great value. The Spanish invaders believed them to be instruments of the devil and burnt great quantities of them. E. G. Richards explains that only four Mayan books are survive in the libraries of Europe, and one of those—The Dresden codex—suffered severe damage in another fire, one which was inflicted on that city in the Second World War. Richards says that the earliest record of a calendar survives from about 500 BC in Monte Alban near Oaxaca. This calendar employs a 260-day cycle, which was commonly used by several societies and is still in use among the present-day inhabitants of the region. The Maya used the calendar partly to anticipate propitious days to embark on wars and other activities. It was also used to record on stone pillars, or stelae, important events in the lives of their kings and to relate these to more mythical events of the past. The Mayan calendar system involved two major methods of specifying a specific date—the calendar round and the long count. The calendar round was used to specify a date within a period of about 52 years, while the long count served to relate such dates within a longer period named a great cycle. The calendar round involved three interlocking cycles of 13, 20, and 365 days respectively. The 365-day cycle was called a haab and was similar to the Egyptian wandering year. Each haab was divided into 18 periods called uinals; each uinal had 20 days and a name. The 18 uinal were followed by five epagomen...
If there is one great constellation, it is the constellation of Gemini. As a Zodiac Constellation, it is only visible during parts of the year. It's two brightest stars, Castor and Pollux, give it the name of the Twins. Anyone born in the end of May until late June is said to have two faces: one of Pollux's and one of Castor's.
Mythology was critical to Greek people’s everyday life, just like how religion is in our modern day in age. Everyday events, such as a thunderstorm, could be linked to a god or goddess. For example, when an earthquake would happen, it would be Poseidon crashing his tritan on the ground. People’s lives revolved around the whole ideology and it served as a way to explain the unexplained and to help them in times of need. All of the stories of these great gods and goddesses were passed down generation through generation each time getting more extreme and distorted. People idolized these beings and built stunning life like sculptures of them. Zeus was the most important of all the Greek gods and also king of Mount Olympus. He became a king after
Greek cosmos played an important role in Greek life including the God's influence and personality, Greek military ideas, philosophers, and Greek poetry. & nbsp; God's impact and personality had a direct influence on daily life in Greek society. The Gods can give things "a cruel turn, this.
Heavenly navigation techniques, that are used in the site of sun and stars in the sky, along with knowing that the earth is a spherical, which astronomers used as a beginning to be executed by sailors that was in Columbus time.
The Indians of South and Central America also had calenders and time pieces based on the stars and movements of the planets. The Indians had a much better understanding of the actions of the universe than did the Europeans. This could be considered odd when you think that the Indians did little or no oceanic navigation for any great lenghts, but nature was the foundation of the Indian religion.
Families deciphered time by seasons and religious traditions. Also they were relatively small regardless of their wealth because of the absence of medication f...
prophecy. They also were able to predict planetary cycles, phases of the moon and Venus.
Due to archeological evidence we know that the African people were the first people in the world to use counting to keep track of their things, or time. Around 35,000 BC, in South Africa the earliest known tally stick was made, and was left in Lebombo Cave. 29 notches were cut into the stick. We don't know exactly what they were counting. Some people think they were counting the days from one moon phase to the next, but it could have been something else. Just as well. Now, what we do see is that by 35,000 BC people in South Africa had the idea of keeping records by making marks. “The Lebombo bone is a baboon fibula with a set of 29 notches carved in it. Archeologists believe these marks are evidence of a primitive calendar, measuring either the lunar or the menstrual calendar. This artifact is incredibly important for unders...
Since the first Egyptian farmers discovered the annual reappearance of Sirius just before dawn a few days before the yearly rising of the Nile, ancient civilizations around the Mediterranean have sought to explain the movements of the heavens as a sort of calendar to help guide them conduct earthly activities. Counting phases of the moon or observing the annual variations of day length could, after many years' collection of observations, serve as vital indicators for planting and harvesting times, safe or stormy season for sailing, or time to bring the flocks from winter to summer pastures. With our millennia of such observation behind us, we sometimes forget that seeing and recording anything less obvious than the rough position of sun or nightly change of moon phase requires inventing both accurate observation tools (a stone circle, a gnomon used to indicate the sun's shadow, a means to measure the position of stars in the sky) and a system of recording that could be understood by others. The ancient Greeks struggled with these problems too, using both native technology and inquiry, and drawing upon the large body of observations and theories gradually gleaned from their older neighbors across the sea, Egypt and Babylonia. Gradually moving from a system of gods and divine powers ordering the world to a system of elements, mathematics, and physical laws, the Greeks slowly adapted old ideas to fit into a less supernatural, hyper-rational universe.
One thing us humans have never been able to fully understand is astronomy. Always an unexplained mystery, astronomy also serves as a way to keep time and predict the future. The word “astronomy” is defined as the study of heavenly bodies, meaning anything in the sky such as stars, galaxies, comets, planets, nebulae, and so on. Many people, if not everyone, are amazed by the night sky on a clear, moonless night. Astronomy dates back to ancient times when peoples such as the Babylonians, Egyptians, and Chinese kept written records of astronomical events and occurrences.
One cultural group was especially important for their discoveries in astronomy, the Egyptians. They were especially important because they were one of the first groups of people to create an accurate calendar. This calendar was different than others because it was based off of the Sun and stars rather than the moon. The calendars purpose was to make correct estimates of when to plan...