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Astronomy Fundamentals

History of Astronomy

What did other ancient cultures around the world know about astronomy?

A knowledge of the night sky seems to be a common thread among all the major cultures and societies of the ancient world. Polynesian cultures, for instance, used the Pleiades (the cluster of stars also known as “The Seven Sisters”) to navigate around the Pacific Ocean. Australian aboriginal cultures, south Asian cultures, Inuit cultures, and northern European cultures all had their own sets of myths and legends about the motions of the Sun and the Moon, as well as their own maps of the stars and of constellations.



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