Thread by @People_Of_Space

Ok, going to jump into today's topics ....

In addition to the ancient Assyrian astronomy I wrote about yesterday, I also wanted to touch on Indigenous Australian astronomy. - which really interests me.

It also pre-dates Assyrian astronomy, which is fascinating!

Let me just pre-face this thread by saying that I am in no way an expert of this topic. In fact, I am only just learning about it myself as I have a deep interest in this field.

I'm drawn to how different cultures in different times in history have seen and used the sky.

But if you're looking to delve a little further, i'd recommend following these subject matter experts themselves:

@AboriginalAstro
@AstroKirsten
@DuaneHamacher
@KrystalDeNapoli

Let me know of others too, so I can share their handles- am sure I am missing some great folks!

So what do I find fascinating about Indigenous Australian astronomy?

Well, a wide field of things I guess, including:

- The Emu that spans the arc of the Milky Way
- The canoe
- The different calendars used
- The recording of the Eta Carinae outburst
- The reflection in artwork

But mostly, I love listening to the beautiful stories that have been passed down through tens of thousands of years, about what the stars, constellations and heavens are doing.

Stories of stars of war; colours in the sunset; the re-birth of the moon; the morning star + more

Given that our Aboriginal cultures stretch back ~50,000 – 65,000 years (amazing in itself!), these 'dreamtime stories' often represent events or characters of mythological and/or ceremonial value.

A point of distinction that should be made is that it was not a single unified culture, but approx. 400 or so cultures - each with their own languages, traditions and stories.

Thus whilst one culture might have seen an emu as a constellation, another may have not.

There are also a number of rock engravings and artefacts that are believed to be of astronomical nature.

Even craters in Australia, the results of comet/asteroid impacts have played a role in dreamtime stories.

Here's some of my favourite stories and the related stars involved.

Note, there are so many more that I couldn't just cover in one thread, but I will add some links and resources to the end of this thread for further reading.

One of my favourites, has to be the ‘Emu in the Sky’. It is referenced in a number of different Aboriginal cultures across Australia, and is a large object in the night sky - esp. during the winter months.

There is a lovely paper by Norris et al. titled 'The Emu Sky Knowledge of the Kamilaroi and Euahlayi Peoples' which discusses the changes in the Emu's position and appearance with reference to the changing story.

atnf.csiro.au/people/Ray.Nor…

Please note, the paper mentioned in the above tweet may contain names of deceased peoples from Aboriginal cultures.

There is even an engraving of the emu in the sky (that aligns with the sky itself!) here in Sydney in one of the national parks, north of the city.

Another story I love (even though it really saddens me) is that of the 22km-wide impact crater, near the red heart of Australia known as Gosses Bluff crater.

I'e previously visited the crater (viewed from afar) and it is majestic, rising almost 200m in the surrounding flats.

To the Western Arrernte Aboriginal people, the crater is a sacred place and tells a story where in the Dreamtime, 3 celestial women were dancing, when one of them grew tired and put her baby down in a basked known as a "turna"

As the women kept dancing, the turna (with the baby) fell from the sky, plunging towards the Earth and forming the crater. Since then, the baby's parents - the evening and morning stars continue to search for their baby.

Lastly, Aboriginal astronomers in Victoria, are said to have created the world's oldest astronomical observatory, similar to Stonehenge - called Wurdi Youang.

Carbon dating puts the site at approx. 11,000 years old!

There was a study conducted on the site, which showed that the angles and arrangements used are to within very close degrees of the equinox and solstices.

11,000 years old even predates the Assyrian astronomy!

Really cool stuff!

There are so many more beautiful stories that I am still learning about, but that was a little sample into the richness of Dreamtime stories by Indigenous Australians, infused with astronomy and passed down through song lines and cultures.

It really is a fantastic subject!

As mentioned, here are some links for further reading:

arxiv.org/pdf/1607.02215…

aboriginalastronomy.com.au

arxiv.org/pdf/0906.0155.…

emudreaming.com/examples.htm

emudreaming.com/Further_readin… (lots of good links here)

aboriginalastronomy.blogspot.com

And of course, another friendly reminder to follow these folks for lots more of these topics.

@AboriginalAstro
@AstroKirsten
@DuaneHamacher
@KrystalDeNapoli
@karlienoon

(also, if I have stated something incorrectly above - sorry! Please let me know to correct and resend)