Your Astronomy Now

Drawings of the phases of the moon (the seeming changes in its shape) have been found in caves in Spain.

These drawings are about 10,000 years old. About 6,000 years ago people in various parts of Europe set huge stones that could be used to mark the places of the rising and setting of the sun and moon. One especially well known group of these stones is at Stonehenge, southern England. It is ring of stone archways. In this primary observatory, the seasons of the year can be determined by the movement of the sun and moon as seen through the archways.

People in ancient Egypt, Babylonia, China, Mexico and other parts in the world also studies night skies. The earliest astronomy records we have were made on clay tablets in Babylonia about 3,000 years ago. They were made by astrologers, or high priests who carefully studied the movements of the sun, moon, and planets in the night sky. They believed that these movements revealed what was going to happen on the earth. In those days people thought that the stars and planets controlled the lives of human beings. Even today there are people who believe in astrology, but there is no scientific proof for its claims.

Tags: astronomy, Origins of Astronomy