The Power of Stars Bryan E. Penprase The Power of Stars How Celestial Observations Have Shaped Civilization 123 Bryan E. Penprase Department of Physics & Astronomy Pomona College N. College Ave. 610 91711 Claremont CA, USA [email protected] Additional material to this book can be downloaded from http:// extras.springer.com. ISBN 978-1-4419-6802-9 e-ISBN 978-1-4419-6803-6 DOI 10.1007/978-1-4419-6803-6 Springer New York Dordrecht Heidelberg London Library of Congress Control Number: 2010932671 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011 All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden. The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights. Cover illustration: a collage of images including the Welsh megalithic site of Llech y Drybedd, known as a dolmen,and perhaps used as a burial site more than 3000 years ago (foreground; photo by author), with star trails from an image of Mauna Kea (Gemini Observatory/AURA), and background image from the Hubble Ultra-Deep field (NASA, ESA, S. Beckwith (STScI) and the HUDF Team). Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) Foreword This book is based on a course which I have taught at Pomona College for nearly 15 years, entitled “Archaeoastronomy and World Cosmology.” I would like to encourage others to make use of this book as a textbook for a similar course and am happy to provide additional curricular materials on request. The book also can be used as guide to the night sky for anyone interested in learning about how the many cultures on the Earth, ancient and modern, have responded to the star and modeled the universe. Pomona College has been an ideal environment for developing this book and I am grateful to the college and the physics and astronomy department for their support of my course. Pomona College encourages innovation and experimentation in the classroom and offers excellent students who have helped me develop the course and some of the topics covered in the book. I have to thank these students for their questions, their enthusiasm, their projects, and their encouragement. Two students in particular were critical to the book’s completion, David Morrison, who provided some interactive star maps, and Kimberly Aldinger, whose artistry made the sky map constellation figures possible. My archaeoastronomy education began with a set of references provided by Dr. Ed Krupp of Griffith Observatory, who has been a great inspiration for me, and introduced many generations of Pomona College students to the world of archaeoastronomy over the years. My colleagues at Pomona College include many great teachers that have helped me learn more about the subject of archaeoastronomy. Special thanks go to the artist Sheila Pinkel for her amazing breadth and humanism in developing art that mirrors the sky seen from many cultures and for her generosity in providing many of the images in the text. My anthropologist colleague Jennifer Perry has been a collaborator in all things related to the Chumash culture and I have greatly appreciated her help with photographs and other information on the Chumash. Richard McKirihan provided some helpful references for my initial study of Greek cosmology and astronomy, and the historian Miguel Tinker Salas helped me some aspects of the many Mesoamerican cultures. Others have helped enormously in acquiring figures and learning about early books, such as Dan Lewis of the Huntington Library, and especially Carrie Marsh of the Claremont University Center for her help finding the many astounding fifteenth- and sixteenth-century works that provided figures for the book. The effort in developing interactive star maps was supported by a Hahn technology grant from Pomona College. My Pomona College colleagues Mark Wood and Kathleen Howe were critical in getting permissions for the Turrell images in the book. Tom Jarrett from IPAC/Caltech has been a long-time collaborator and I appreciate his magnificent photograph of the Palomar 200" telescope. I would also like to thank William Smith for his photographs from China, and Amarillys Rodriguez for her drawing of Egyptian cosmology. Three visits to England were extremely helpful for learning more about the history of astronomy. These visits were made possible by Downing College and my host at Cambridge, Max Pettini. While v vi Foreword in England, trips to Avebury and Wales were made possible by Diahann Hughes and Robin Heath, who were generous hosts and tour guides in our encounters with megaliths. Visits to India helped secure information on Indian astronomical and calendrical practices, and I am grateful to my hosts Ravi Subrahmanyan at the Raman Research Institute in Bangalore, his colleague Biman Nath for providing helpful information on Indian calendars, and Mayank Vahia for hosting a visit to the TIFR in Mumbai. During my sabbatical, Eric Jensen of Swarthmore College was a generous host and made me aware of some interesting research articles in archaeoastronomy. My lifelong friend Kurt Raymond has been a traveling companion in the Southwest and introduced me to Chimney Rock. I would like to thank my graduate thesis advisor, Chris Blades, for his education in science and in writing clearly. I would also like to thank my collaborator Wallace Sargent at Caltech, who arranged for a visiting associate status at Caltech that was very helpful both for completing this book and for advancing in my astronomy knowledge. I would also like to thank Timothy Ferris for reading a draft of the book and providing useful suggestions for improvement. The book would simply not be possible without the support of my wonderful family. This includes my wife Bidushi, who has been my main collaborator in life and who has provided inspiration, support, humor, and encouragement throughout the process. My lovely daughters, Asha and Shanti, provided their own unique energy and stellar power during the entire writing process. My mother, Catherine Penprase, was a very kind first reader and gave many helpful suggestions. My father, Donald Penprase, was enormously proud that I was writing a book but unfortunately passed away before the book was finished. I would like to dedicate this book to my family and hope that the stars always shine kindly on them all. Contents 1 Our Experience of the Sky and Star Knowledge ...................... 1 The Human Experience of the Sky . ............................. 3 Beginnings......................................... 4 Moon............................................ 5 Mercury........................................... 10 Venus ............................................ 11 Sun............................................. 14 SunLore........................................... 18 Mars............................................. 19 Jupiter............................................ 21 Saturn............................................ 24 TheStars.......................................... 26 2 A World of Constellations in the Night Sky ......................... 29 A Tour of Constellations North and South . ......................... 29 ArcticSkiesandtheNorthernCircumpolarStars....................... 31 Ursa Major or “The Big Dipper” . ............................. 31 Northern Circumpolar Sky from Around the World . .................... 35 European Circumpolar Constellations . ......................... 35 TheCircumpolarSkyfromAncientChina......................... 39 Northern Circumpolar Sky from Around the World . .................... 42 TheArcticInuitSky..................................... 42 The Equatorial Sky ...................................... 44 Equatorial Sky from Around the World . ......................... 47 Equatorial Constellations from the European Tradition . ............... 47 The Equatorial Sky from Around the World . ......................... 60 The Hawaiian and Polynesian Sky ............................. 60 Equatorial Sky from Around the World . ......................... 63 TheNavajoSky....................................... 63 TheChumashSky...................................... 65 The Southern Sky ....................................... 68 The Southern Sky from Around the World . ......................... 69 TheAboriginalAustralianSky............................... 69 The Southern Sky from Around the World . ......................... 74 The Incan Andean Sky . .................................. 74 vii viii Contents 3 Creation Stories from Around the World .......................... 77 European Creation Stories . .................................. 80 MythicGreekCreationandCosmology.......................... 80 NorseCreationandCosmology............................... 81 Celtic Stories . ....................................... 83 EgyptianCreationStories................................... 85 Mesopotamian Creation Stories . ............................. 87 AustralianCreationStories.................................. 90 CreationStoriesfromtheAmericas.............................