Sky Cultures

Read the same stars the way other peoples have read them.

7 guides · about 50 min

Start anywhere. No guide on this path builds on another, so take them in any order.

1. 1. Before the Greeks 7 min Who gave us the zodiac and the 24-hour day?

   You’ll be able to point to the Babylonian zodiac and the Egyptian hours in the winter sky.

   Builds on

   • Why the Sky Moves · How the Sky Turns. It uses “precession”, which Why the Sky Moves explains.

   Begin Know it already? Find it outside
2. 2. The Star That Brought the Flood 8 min Why did one star’s return at dawn open the year in ancient Egypt?

   You’ll be able to say when Sirius returns at dawn, and why that night once opened a year.

   Builds on

   • Four Minutes Earlier · How the Sky Turns. A star’s first dawn comes from it rising four minutes earlier each night.

   Begin
3. 3. The Chinese Sky 6 min Whose palace did Chinese astronomers see at the pole of the sky?

   You’ll be able to find the Purple Forbidden Enclosure, the Azure Dragon and the lovers across the Silver River.

   Builds on

   • Finding the North Star · How the Sky Turns. Its palace in the sky is built round Polaris and the pole.
   • The Summer Triangle · Constellations. The lovers across the Silver River are Vega and Altair.

   Begin Know it already? Find it outside
4. 4. The Moon's Houses 7 min How long does the Moon take to come back to the same star?

   You’ll be able to follow the Moon’s road through its stations, and read the Hyades three ways.

   Builds on

   • Why the Sky Moves · How the Sky Turns. It uses “precession”, which Why the Sky Moves explains.
   • The Moon's Month · Moon. The houses follow the Moon through the month you learned in The Moon’s Month.

   Begin
5. 5. Polynesian Wayfinding 7 min How do you cross 4,000 km of open ocean with no instruments?

   You’ll be able to read the rising points of stars as a compass, the way Polynesian navigators did.

   Builds on

   • Finding the North Star · How the Sky Turns. Hōkūpaʻa, the star a navigator reads latitude from, is Polaris.
   • The Southern Cross · How the Sky Turns. The cross on the southern horizon is the Southern Cross.

   Begin
6. 6. Shapes in the Dark 6 min Can a constellation be made of darkness instead of stars?

   You’ll be able to find the llama and the emu in the dark lanes of the Milky Way.

   Builds on

   • The Southern Cross · How the Sky Turns. The Emu’s head is the Coalsack, beside the Southern Cross.

   Begin Know it already? Find it outside
7. 7. The Sisters and the Hunter 8 min Could an old story record a star in Orion changing brightness?

   You’ll be able to tell three peoples’ stories of the Pleiades and Orion under the stars themselves.

   Builds on

   • The Pleiades · Deep Sky. The Sisters are the Pleiades.

   Begin

From other paths

Guides on this path build on these.

• Why the Sky Moves · How the Sky Turns · 8 min It uses “precession”, which Why the Sky Moves explains.
• Four Minutes Earlier · How the Sky Turns · 6 min A star’s first dawn comes from it rising four minutes earlier each night.
• Finding the North Star · How the Sky Turns · 6 min Its palace in the sky is built round Polaris and the pole.
• The Summer Triangle · Constellations · 8 min The lovers across the Silver River are Vega and Altair.
• The Moon's Month · Moon · 6 min The houses follow the Moon through the month you learned in The Moon’s Month.
• The Southern Cross · How the Sky Turns · 6 min The cross on the southern horizon is the Southern Cross.
• The Pleiades · Deep Sky · 8 min The Sisters are the Pleiades.