What is a home planetarium?
Nobody KNOWS, because its undefined really, perhaps thats part of the charm. In my current introduction, I say something to the effect
Anybody here have hobbies? passions?
Anybody have more than 1?
Well, youre sitting in a combination of ALL of mine I wanted to share!
planetariums. history. astronomy. modeling. drama. music. construction. special effects. making things yourself. writing .
Picture the old one man band, with cymbals between his knees .. sortof that image
I think if I defy expectations, then its impossible to fail expectations. Maybe one group is silent and I feel lousy .. another is bouncing and want to hold the laser pointer and pass it around . thats why I keep insisting to myself you HAVE to pick up a guitar and play something during a show - alot of preachers down here in the bible belt even do that .. show people who you are ..
Its not supposed to be about US in life .. but somehow in a home built planetarium .. I kind of think theres no escaping that it IS about us
Because nobody else is this crazy
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
IPS Recognition!
There has been a remarkable resurgence of the "Home Planetarium Association". The Home Planetarium Association (HPA) is the world’s first organized group of Home Planetarium builders, collectors, and enthusiasts! Founded in the mid 90s, HPA helps keep the dream alive of having your own star theater at home through a combination of how to tips, networking, and archiving. The main supporters are Ron Walker, a film producer, (walkprod@att,net) and Gary Likert who began this group. (mrgare5050@hotmail.com) Members communicate through an electronic magazine with a readership of over two hundred or more. http://www.planetariumsathome.com/
HPA has been somewhat detached from IPS for the past few years as our remarkable Observatory Central based resurgence has been a 3 year juggarnaut of activity, which has seen the rise of the Planetarium and Science Museum (to which HPA donated the first and only homemade planetarium, the Emmons/HPA projector made from one of Dick Emmons hand drilled starballs. As we look into the future, perhaps IPS looms larger again in our writings and networking!
HPA has been somewhat detached from IPS for the past few years as our remarkable Observatory Central based resurgence has been a 3 year juggarnaut of activity, which has seen the rise of the Planetarium and Science Museum (to which HPA donated the first and only homemade planetarium, the Emmons/HPA projector made from one of Dick Emmons hand drilled starballs. As we look into the future, perhaps IPS looms larger again in our writings and networking!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Home Planetarium Quotes
All my life I had dreamed of it, but it was absurd - nobody had the stars in their garage, their basement, their barn. But people do. Now I do too, and so can you. Dream. Dream BIG
For what is a dome really, an impossible yet impossibly graceful construct of curved nothingness that must be strong to contain the bowl of night, yet support only the unfathomably tiny pressure of the myriad starpoints
The HPA Philosophy: Make it don't buy it, convert it don't throw it away. Some junk is good junk. Upon dusty shelves may lurk treasures. Blessed is the messy back workroom. Its all about the gasp when someone whispers.. I see stars!
Ah good Professor! Its almost as if we spent so much time in the archives, we looked up one day and were amazed to find that we now WERE the archives....
Objects to be used in the Dark can be of fantastic and unlikely shape and hue, for they aren't really there anymore when they open thir portals onto infinity
quotes by gary likert
For what is a dome really, an impossible yet impossibly graceful construct of curved nothingness that must be strong to contain the bowl of night, yet support only the unfathomably tiny pressure of the myriad starpoints
The HPA Philosophy: Make it don't buy it, convert it don't throw it away. Some junk is good junk. Upon dusty shelves may lurk treasures. Blessed is the messy back workroom. Its all about the gasp when someone whispers.. I see stars!
Ah good Professor! Its almost as if we spent so much time in the archives, we looked up one day and were amazed to find that we now WERE the archives....
Objects to be used in the Dark can be of fantastic and unlikely shape and hue, for they aren't really there anymore when they open thir portals onto infinity
quotes by gary likert
Home Planetarium Specs
Drill Bit/Needle Sizes
mag hole size bit number
0-1 .076 - .089 48 - 45
1-0 .046 - .063 57 - 55
2-1 .040 - .033 68 - 60
3-2 .028 - .025 71 - 70
4-3 .0225 - .020 76 - 72
5 .0125 80
Lense your Star pinholes
The 9mm by 265mm lense sold by Anchor Optics
is currently the best lense for pinhole stars,
provide these for at least your 1st magntitudes for best results!
How Many Stars?
Mag Number
-27 1 (the big yellow one)
1 20
2 58
3 82
4 530
5 1600
6 4800
Starball Size
Fair 10 inch globe
Good 12 inch
Better 16 inch
Best 20+ inch
Light Source for starballs
Good 2.47 Volt Flashlight
Better Minimag LED
Best Stinger Streamlight LED
mag hole size bit number
0-1 .076 - .089 48 - 45
1-0 .046 - .063 57 - 55
2-1 .040 - .033 68 - 60
3-2 .028 - .025 71 - 70
4-3 .0225 - .020 76 - 72
5 .0125 80
Lense your Star pinholes
The 9mm by 265mm lense sold by Anchor Optics
is currently the best lense for pinhole stars,
provide these for at least your 1st magntitudes for best results!
How Many Stars?
Mag Number
-27 1 (the big yellow one)
1 20
2 58
3 82
4 530
5 1600
6 4800
Starball Size
Fair 10 inch globe
Good 12 inch
Better 16 inch
Best 20+ inch
Light Source for starballs
Good 2.47 Volt Flashlight
Better Minimag LED
Best Stinger Streamlight LED
Monday, March 1, 2010
A Brief Planetarium Show - Act 3
Act 3 - The Sun
Now that we've seen a few of the classical constellations of antiquity in our skies, we gracefully set the stars in motion as they wheel past and the night wears on. The later the hour becomes, the more we begin to see the evening constellations in the seasons to come - by dawn, we are seeing a preview of evening constellations almost 6 months from right now. Lets stop now just before dawn's light begins interfering with our starlight. Before we see our own star at close up range after its nightly absence, an experience we more commonly know as 'morning', lets stop to consider for a moment, what exactly is a star? Many people don't realize the sun is a star, and the stars are suns. There are many variables in why the two seem different - the most obvious being distance. Our sun is 93 million miles away - most stars we see are dozens or hundreds of light years away. Light can travel around the Earth 7 times in one second, so imagine how far it travels in a year! Though the stars may be far larger and brighter than our own sun, and most are, they are so far away they appear as tiny bright pinpoints sparkling in our sky.
Most people also don't realize that many many 'stars' we see in our sky are actually the combined light of double or multiple stars. These cosmic partner revolve around each other in an endless dance, having formed together in the distant past. Mizor and Alcor are just such a pair in the Big Dipper. Watch now as a red dwarf star dances around its yellow giant partner - its a sight seen only in telescopes and in slow motion - imagine how majestic such a sight would be from a nearby planet, as depicted here.
What is a star? We go back to the creation of the universe. The elemental building block of nature is the simplest of atoms - the hydrogen atom. The most elemental force of the universe is gravity, the attraction of two bodies together. Albert Einstein proved early in the 20th century that a body, or mass, creates a distortion in the very fabric of space which causes objects to be attracted, much like a ball rollilng down into a drain - this is how gravity works. Gravity attracts hydrogen atoms together - if there are enough of them, they compress and heat up. If enough heat builds up, nuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium begins, which releases tremendous amounts of heat and light, then a star turns on and burns millions or billions of years. Each star you see in the sky is a giant nuclear furnance, turning hydrogen into helium and releasing heat and light. Einstein's famous formula tells us how much energy, E=MC squared. The E, or energy released will be equal to the enormous product of the Mass itself, in a stars case the hydrogen atoms, times the huge number C squared, the speed of light times itself! The bottom line is this - nuclear fusion releases enormous amounts of energy, and a chain reaction like this in a star can last billions of years. And so the stars burn on, revolving in their galaxies, as their spinning galaxies fly ever further apart from the Big Bang.
Now, without further facts or science or cosmology, perhaps the next time you witness the most predictable event in our very lives, the sun coming up, you will appreciate that which made our planet and our lives possible - the sun! And hopefully you'll remember where it came from, what family it belongs to, and where it is headed. The next time you see our sun come up, appreciate it! It is the founder of our feast here on Earth. We are its children. Hopefully it gives a whole new perspective to the well known phrase . good morning!
Now that we've seen a few of the classical constellations of antiquity in our skies, we gracefully set the stars in motion as they wheel past and the night wears on. The later the hour becomes, the more we begin to see the evening constellations in the seasons to come - by dawn, we are seeing a preview of evening constellations almost 6 months from right now. Lets stop now just before dawn's light begins interfering with our starlight. Before we see our own star at close up range after its nightly absence, an experience we more commonly know as 'morning', lets stop to consider for a moment, what exactly is a star? Many people don't realize the sun is a star, and the stars are suns. There are many variables in why the two seem different - the most obvious being distance. Our sun is 93 million miles away - most stars we see are dozens or hundreds of light years away. Light can travel around the Earth 7 times in one second, so imagine how far it travels in a year! Though the stars may be far larger and brighter than our own sun, and most are, they are so far away they appear as tiny bright pinpoints sparkling in our sky.
Most people also don't realize that many many 'stars' we see in our sky are actually the combined light of double or multiple stars. These cosmic partner revolve around each other in an endless dance, having formed together in the distant past. Mizor and Alcor are just such a pair in the Big Dipper. Watch now as a red dwarf star dances around its yellow giant partner - its a sight seen only in telescopes and in slow motion - imagine how majestic such a sight would be from a nearby planet, as depicted here.
What is a star? We go back to the creation of the universe. The elemental building block of nature is the simplest of atoms - the hydrogen atom. The most elemental force of the universe is gravity, the attraction of two bodies together. Albert Einstein proved early in the 20th century that a body, or mass, creates a distortion in the very fabric of space which causes objects to be attracted, much like a ball rollilng down into a drain - this is how gravity works. Gravity attracts hydrogen atoms together - if there are enough of them, they compress and heat up. If enough heat builds up, nuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium begins, which releases tremendous amounts of heat and light, then a star turns on and burns millions or billions of years. Each star you see in the sky is a giant nuclear furnance, turning hydrogen into helium and releasing heat and light. Einstein's famous formula tells us how much energy, E=MC squared. The E, or energy released will be equal to the enormous product of the Mass itself, in a stars case the hydrogen atoms, times the huge number C squared, the speed of light times itself! The bottom line is this - nuclear fusion releases enormous amounts of energy, and a chain reaction like this in a star can last billions of years. And so the stars burn on, revolving in their galaxies, as their spinning galaxies fly ever further apart from the Big Bang.
Now, without further facts or science or cosmology, perhaps the next time you witness the most predictable event in our very lives, the sun coming up, you will appreciate that which made our planet and our lives possible - the sun! And hopefully you'll remember where it came from, what family it belongs to, and where it is headed. The next time you see our sun come up, appreciate it! It is the founder of our feast here on Earth. We are its children. Hopefully it gives a whole new perspective to the well known phrase . good morning!
A Brief Planetarium Show - Act 2
Act 2 - the Basic Constellations
Welcome to Sumner Skies Planetarium! Hows that for an entrance. Nothing like retracing the birth and evolution of the whole universe to set the stage for the stars in all their beauty and glory. We're looking at the sky you can see tonight from middle Tennessee, gorgeous isn't it? But actually, this is the sky you could see if everything was perfect outside after dark - no clouds, no moon, and no light pollution. Everyone knows you can't see through clouds, and the brightness and romance of the moon are actually hindrances to seeing the multitude of faint objects we see here. But clouds and the moon can be avoided. Its the third enemy of the stars, light pollution, that not many people know about. Its easy to understand though when you consider how much development there has been around these parts. As brightly lit cities sprawl outwards unchecked, as lights shine not only down where they're needed but up where they're not, the horizon glow gets brighter and brighter until our beloved sars are all but lost in the glare. This sadly is the state of affairs in all metropolitan areas now, including here in Gallatin. There is a movement towards low sodium, top shielded outdoor lighting, but it may be a losing battle. Still, we can drive to the country far away from the city and see the stars as they were truly meant to be seen.
The sky we see above tonight is virtually unchanged from the sky seen by our distant ancestors 2,000 years ago - stars move ever so slowly across our skies not because they themselves move slowly, but because they are so distant. So tonight here in the planetarium you are looking at virtually the same stars the cavemen saw as they struggled for survival. Today of course we have the thousands of yearold legacies of the constellations, or star pitctures - patterns in the sky in which the anicents thought they saw all manner of legendary and everyday beasts, birds, and objects from their world and myths. The beautiful cards encircling the walls of the planetarium depitc thse trantastic imaginings. More recently, we have star classifications applied to the brightness of the stars we can see above - from the brightest zero magnitude stars to the faintest 5th magnitude stars. We see the famous Milky Way, a faint band of light that one must have truly dark skies to even see at all - sightings from Gallatin now are reserved for the darkest, clearest nights. This is our own galaxy seen from within, the one we saw born out of the Big Bang when we began. The Milky Way is not milk at all, it is the co-mingled light of billions of stars too far and numerous to be seen with the naked eye. Ancients referred to the Milky Way as the 'backbone of the night', and its easy to see why.
The stars at night appear to move from east to west across our dark sky, much as the sun does across the brilliant skies of daylight. This of course, as in the case of the sun, is the result of the earth's rotation, not the stars movement. The stars do appear to rotate about the north celestial pole in the sky, a point directly over the North Pole of Earth. Marking the North Pole is the famous pole star, Polaris, tail star of the Little Dipper. The Little Dipper is faint, in the dead north of the sky, and it takes a clear night to make out. More famous is her big brother, the Big Bear, circling nearby. You may know her by her most famous portion - the Big Dipper. The Big Dipper is visible most nights of the year - note how the so-called pointer stars of the Big Dipper point to the North Star. Joining the stately Dippers of the North are the King and Queen of the night sky, King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia of mythology. Cepheus looks like a house shaped figure skirting the Milky Way. Cassiopeia is shaped like an M or W flying round the pole. Need help seeing these four famous figures? Now can you see them? (at this point utilize constellation projectors and demonstrate other seasonal points of interest)
Welcome to Sumner Skies Planetarium! Hows that for an entrance. Nothing like retracing the birth and evolution of the whole universe to set the stage for the stars in all their beauty and glory. We're looking at the sky you can see tonight from middle Tennessee, gorgeous isn't it? But actually, this is the sky you could see if everything was perfect outside after dark - no clouds, no moon, and no light pollution. Everyone knows you can't see through clouds, and the brightness and romance of the moon are actually hindrances to seeing the multitude of faint objects we see here. But clouds and the moon can be avoided. Its the third enemy of the stars, light pollution, that not many people know about. Its easy to understand though when you consider how much development there has been around these parts. As brightly lit cities sprawl outwards unchecked, as lights shine not only down where they're needed but up where they're not, the horizon glow gets brighter and brighter until our beloved sars are all but lost in the glare. This sadly is the state of affairs in all metropolitan areas now, including here in Gallatin. There is a movement towards low sodium, top shielded outdoor lighting, but it may be a losing battle. Still, we can drive to the country far away from the city and see the stars as they were truly meant to be seen.
The sky we see above tonight is virtually unchanged from the sky seen by our distant ancestors 2,000 years ago - stars move ever so slowly across our skies not because they themselves move slowly, but because they are so distant. So tonight here in the planetarium you are looking at virtually the same stars the cavemen saw as they struggled for survival. Today of course we have the thousands of yearold legacies of the constellations, or star pitctures - patterns in the sky in which the anicents thought they saw all manner of legendary and everyday beasts, birds, and objects from their world and myths. The beautiful cards encircling the walls of the planetarium depitc thse trantastic imaginings. More recently, we have star classifications applied to the brightness of the stars we can see above - from the brightest zero magnitude stars to the faintest 5th magnitude stars. We see the famous Milky Way, a faint band of light that one must have truly dark skies to even see at all - sightings from Gallatin now are reserved for the darkest, clearest nights. This is our own galaxy seen from within, the one we saw born out of the Big Bang when we began. The Milky Way is not milk at all, it is the co-mingled light of billions of stars too far and numerous to be seen with the naked eye. Ancients referred to the Milky Way as the 'backbone of the night', and its easy to see why.
The stars at night appear to move from east to west across our dark sky, much as the sun does across the brilliant skies of daylight. This of course, as in the case of the sun, is the result of the earth's rotation, not the stars movement. The stars do appear to rotate about the north celestial pole in the sky, a point directly over the North Pole of Earth. Marking the North Pole is the famous pole star, Polaris, tail star of the Little Dipper. The Little Dipper is faint, in the dead north of the sky, and it takes a clear night to make out. More famous is her big brother, the Big Bear, circling nearby. You may know her by her most famous portion - the Big Dipper. The Big Dipper is visible most nights of the year - note how the so-called pointer stars of the Big Dipper point to the North Star. Joining the stately Dippers of the North are the King and Queen of the night sky, King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia of mythology. Cepheus looks like a house shaped figure skirting the Milky Way. Cassiopeia is shaped like an M or W flying round the pole. Need help seeing these four famous figures? Now can you see them? (at this point utilize constellation projectors and demonstrate other seasonal points of interest)
A Brief Planetarium Show - Act 1
Act 1 the Big Bang
In the end, the question of where the universe came from, in the beginning, is a matter of belief. What came before the universe is impossible to view with our own eyes, and what happened at its actual birth happened billions of years ago. All we can see and wonder at is what the universe shows us today, not the end produce but the evolving form of the universe at this particular moment of its history. But even what we see out there is misleading, for we see each object as it was when the light reaching our wondering eyes left on its journey to Earth - in the case of distant galaxies that may be millions of years ago. Looking out into space is looking into the past. Observing what has happened since the brief dawning of our own astronomical observations, we can only project back to the beginning. Back to what the evidence supports might have happened. Back to the origin of the space/time/mass/energy mix we find ourselves in on Earth, and in our beautiful night sky.
Most scientists today believe in the Big Bang Theory of the creation of the universe. They believe that everything that was to be was originally compressed into a single point, a singularity containing the very basic building blocks of all that came afterwards. We represent that singularity here with a single point of brilliant light. What happened next happened with inconceivable speed and power. The singularity, say scientists, must have exploded in an unimaginable outpouring of energy and subatomic particles in every direction - and the universe was born. The outward bound particles began combining according to the ingrained laws of nature, growing ever larger and cooling as they sped apart at unbelievable speed. Gradually the universe began cooling, leaving a swarm of outbound proto-galaxies as hydrogen atoms formed, grouped, and turned on as the first stars, pinwheeling about themsevles in clumps to the eternal song of gravity, the most pervasive of the underlying forces. The galaxies were born as the expansion wore on towards infinity, their combined starlight shifting to the red end of the spectrum as they receded.
In the vast collection of galaxies was one typical spiral member, a huge pinwheel of stars we know as the Milky Way galaxy. Our galaxy. A spiral of billions upon billions of stars. Far outside in the flar-flung reaches of one spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy a smallish, normal yellow dwarf star was born about 8 billion years ago. Around this star revolved gas and dust, which over endless time grouped together to form planets, most importantly to us the Earth upon which we stand. LIghting our skies by day, this star enabled life itself to spring forth, including us. At night though we can still see, from within, our glorious spiral galaxy and a few of its innumerable stars as we continue our outward journey from the ancient Big Bang to we know not where.
Behold the stars!
In the end, the question of where the universe came from, in the beginning, is a matter of belief. What came before the universe is impossible to view with our own eyes, and what happened at its actual birth happened billions of years ago. All we can see and wonder at is what the universe shows us today, not the end produce but the evolving form of the universe at this particular moment of its history. But even what we see out there is misleading, for we see each object as it was when the light reaching our wondering eyes left on its journey to Earth - in the case of distant galaxies that may be millions of years ago. Looking out into space is looking into the past. Observing what has happened since the brief dawning of our own astronomical observations, we can only project back to the beginning. Back to what the evidence supports might have happened. Back to the origin of the space/time/mass/energy mix we find ourselves in on Earth, and in our beautiful night sky.
Most scientists today believe in the Big Bang Theory of the creation of the universe. They believe that everything that was to be was originally compressed into a single point, a singularity containing the very basic building blocks of all that came afterwards. We represent that singularity here with a single point of brilliant light. What happened next happened with inconceivable speed and power. The singularity, say scientists, must have exploded in an unimaginable outpouring of energy and subatomic particles in every direction - and the universe was born. The outward bound particles began combining according to the ingrained laws of nature, growing ever larger and cooling as they sped apart at unbelievable speed. Gradually the universe began cooling, leaving a swarm of outbound proto-galaxies as hydrogen atoms formed, grouped, and turned on as the first stars, pinwheeling about themsevles in clumps to the eternal song of gravity, the most pervasive of the underlying forces. The galaxies were born as the expansion wore on towards infinity, their combined starlight shifting to the red end of the spectrum as they receded.
In the vast collection of galaxies was one typical spiral member, a huge pinwheel of stars we know as the Milky Way galaxy. Our galaxy. A spiral of billions upon billions of stars. Far outside in the flar-flung reaches of one spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy a smallish, normal yellow dwarf star was born about 8 billion years ago. Around this star revolved gas and dust, which over endless time grouped together to form planets, most importantly to us the Earth upon which we stand. LIghting our skies by day, this star enabled life itself to spring forth, including us. At night though we can still see, from within, our glorious spiral galaxy and a few of its innumerable stars as we continue our outward journey from the ancient Big Bang to we know not where.
Behold the stars!
A Brief Egyptian Module
Themed Module 1 - Under Egyptian Skies
It is a leap of many years from our own backyard skies to those of the ancients, yet here is a time machine like no other available to us. Though the skies change slowly, we can still see the stars mostly as our ancient human ancestors saw them, linking us to them. And among those who left monuments and writings behind so that we may see what they saw, none may be better than the ancient Egyptians. For what monuments have stood the test of time like the Great Pyramids? Behold the pyramid of Khufu, largest of the three outside Cairo that hold so many mysteries of the ages. Mysteries of burial customs yes, for the pyramids were tombs, burial chambers for Egyptian royalty .. The pyramids were engineering marvels - we find evidence of whole towns housing laborers, who may have been slaves but may have been paid workers.. who seemingly somehow built these enormous lasting structures. But prolonged study of the pyramids provide many clues of the skywatching practices of the ancient Egyptians, who literally merged earth with sky for all eternity/
The Great Pyramid of Khufu is part of a three pyramid chain of lesser tombs on the plain of Giza, guarded by the famous Sphinx. The resemblance of their layout to the three belt stars of Orion is well documented, Orion represented one of Egypts most powerful gods, Osiris, god of death, rebirth and the afterlife. It is easy to see why, since Orion is such an imposing celestial figure then and now. But there is more ... two thin shafts connect Khufu's actual burial chamber with the outside of the structure ... originally thought to be airholes, they roughly align with Orions belt, and the then pole star Thuban in the Constellation Draco. In 2550 BC when Khufu ruled, the earths skies appeared to revolve around Thuban as they do today around Polaris, our own North Star. The building of these shafts is an engineering marvel in itself given the huge size of the stones .. how they were aligned so precisely to important stars compounds the wonder!
The most famous star in ancient Egyptian skies was Sirius, the dog star, brightest still in our heavens of today. Sirius would rise in the dawn at the beginning of the Nile River flooding season - the Nile was vitally important to Egyptian life, agriculture, and trade. Egptian priests who learned to site Sirius first appearance in the dawn sky could predict the flooding, giving them considerable power and influence. Sirius follows Orion in the sky, and first appears at dawn during late summer. When we view our sun rising with Sirius gleaming fitfully on the horizon, think back about what it must have meant to these ancient, intelligent people.
The Egyptians had many star myths and legends just as we do today. In addition to Orion being Osiris, the Milky Way represented the sky goddess Nut, giving birth to the sun god Re. The stars were represented by the goddess of writing, Seshat, and the moon by Thoth, the god of wisdom. Even the horizon, something we today never think of, had significance to the ancient Egyptian skywatchers. The rising sun was associated with Horus, child of Osiris and Isis. Re was the strong noontide sun - think of the incredible heat and light of the noonday sun in the Egyptian desert and its easy to see why this was their most powerful god. The setting sun however was named Atum, the creator god. It was he that lifted the pharohs from their Pyramid tombs into the stars - the redness of the setting sun was his blood as he died. Egyptian immortality was tied together with this daily birth and rebirth of the sun and sky.
They Egyptians called the northern circumpolar stars 'the Imperishable Ones', for they never set .. but in truth their entire culture is Imperishable for us since they preserved so much legacy and history. Like the stars, their monuments, writings, and memory seem to linger on into eternity.
It is a leap of many years from our own backyard skies to those of the ancients, yet here is a time machine like no other available to us. Though the skies change slowly, we can still see the stars mostly as our ancient human ancestors saw them, linking us to them. And among those who left monuments and writings behind so that we may see what they saw, none may be better than the ancient Egyptians. For what monuments have stood the test of time like the Great Pyramids? Behold the pyramid of Khufu, largest of the three outside Cairo that hold so many mysteries of the ages. Mysteries of burial customs yes, for the pyramids were tombs, burial chambers for Egyptian royalty .. The pyramids were engineering marvels - we find evidence of whole towns housing laborers, who may have been slaves but may have been paid workers.. who seemingly somehow built these enormous lasting structures. But prolonged study of the pyramids provide many clues of the skywatching practices of the ancient Egyptians, who literally merged earth with sky for all eternity/
The Great Pyramid of Khufu is part of a three pyramid chain of lesser tombs on the plain of Giza, guarded by the famous Sphinx. The resemblance of their layout to the three belt stars of Orion is well documented, Orion represented one of Egypts most powerful gods, Osiris, god of death, rebirth and the afterlife. It is easy to see why, since Orion is such an imposing celestial figure then and now. But there is more ... two thin shafts connect Khufu's actual burial chamber with the outside of the structure ... originally thought to be airholes, they roughly align with Orions belt, and the then pole star Thuban in the Constellation Draco. In 2550 BC when Khufu ruled, the earths skies appeared to revolve around Thuban as they do today around Polaris, our own North Star. The building of these shafts is an engineering marvel in itself given the huge size of the stones .. how they were aligned so precisely to important stars compounds the wonder!
The most famous star in ancient Egyptian skies was Sirius, the dog star, brightest still in our heavens of today. Sirius would rise in the dawn at the beginning of the Nile River flooding season - the Nile was vitally important to Egyptian life, agriculture, and trade. Egptian priests who learned to site Sirius first appearance in the dawn sky could predict the flooding, giving them considerable power and influence. Sirius follows Orion in the sky, and first appears at dawn during late summer. When we view our sun rising with Sirius gleaming fitfully on the horizon, think back about what it must have meant to these ancient, intelligent people.
The Egyptians had many star myths and legends just as we do today. In addition to Orion being Osiris, the Milky Way represented the sky goddess Nut, giving birth to the sun god Re. The stars were represented by the goddess of writing, Seshat, and the moon by Thoth, the god of wisdom. Even the horizon, something we today never think of, had significance to the ancient Egyptian skywatchers. The rising sun was associated with Horus, child of Osiris and Isis. Re was the strong noontide sun - think of the incredible heat and light of the noonday sun in the Egyptian desert and its easy to see why this was their most powerful god. The setting sun however was named Atum, the creator god. It was he that lifted the pharohs from their Pyramid tombs into the stars - the redness of the setting sun was his blood as he died. Egyptian immortality was tied together with this daily birth and rebirth of the sun and sky.
They Egyptians called the northern circumpolar stars 'the Imperishable Ones', for they never set .. but in truth their entire culture is Imperishable for us since they preserved so much legacy and history. Like the stars, their monuments, writings, and memory seem to linger on into eternity.
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