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Statue of Tycho Brahe, characteristically looking up. Source: Sven Rosborn / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Who was Tycho Brahe? Astronomy with a Naked Eye (and a Missing Nose)

The name Tycho Brahe is not a familiar one to most people. And those who have heard the name, perhaps in the same sentence as Copernicus, or Galileo, may struggle to remember what the man himself was...
Stonehenge will be empty for the summer solstice in 2020. Source: Stephen /Adobe Stock

The Summer Solstice at Stonehenge - A History-Making Livestream

In the northern hemisphere, when the summer solstice occurs around June 21, the North Pole is tilted about 23°27´ toward the Sun, which itself is traveling its longest path through the sky, and that...
The total solar eclipse of May 28 585 caused a cease in fighting between the Medians and the Lydians.           Source: zef art / Adobe Stock

May 28, 585 BC: The Battle Of The Solar Eclipse

On this day, 28 May, in 585 BC, a fierce battle was underway in Asia Minor when the light vanished in the middle of the day causing the warring armies to lay down their arms and declare a truce. This...
Pole starts used to align the pyramids at Giza.          Source: Aliaksei / Adobe Stock

Ancient Egyptian North Star Eclipsed By Astronomical Discovery

The star used by ancient Egyptians as their North Star has just been discovered to be one part of a pair of binary stars that periodically eclipse one another, according to NASA scientists. The team’...
Medieval stargazers. People have been fascinated by the stars and their possible influence over our lives, long before and after the time of Babylonian astrology.

Complex Astronomical and Astrological Systems Detailed on Ancient Assyrian Tablets

Archaeologists studying a group of five unique stone tablets dating to the first millennium in Babylonia and Assyria have announced that they reveal a hitherto unknown level of astronomical...
Blood moon lunar eclipse

Exploring Ancient Lunar Legends as Total Lunar Eclipse Will Create Rare 'Blood Moon'

The moon has been an object of worship, veneration, and intrigue among ancient civilizations for thousands of years. Now, it is set to capture our admiration once again as a total lunar eclipse will...
Changing colors of the Moon during a total lunar eclipse, Mt Buffalo National Park, June 16, 2011

The next Full Moon brings a lunar eclipse, but is it a Super Blood Blue Moon as well? That depends…

A total lunar eclipse will occur on Wednesday, January 31, and Australia is in the perfect position to see it. But it’s also being called many other lunar things, from a Blood Moon to a Blue Moon and...
 As long as clouds don’t get in the way, the view should be spectacular.

Look Up at the Super Blue Blood Full Moon Jan. 31 – Here’s What You’ll See and Why

Shannon Schmoll / The Conversation During the early hours of January 31 , there will be a full moon, a total lunar eclipse, a blue moon and a supermoon – all at the same time. None of these things is...
Ancient statue of Ramesses II.

Oldest Recorded Solar Eclipse Helps Date the Egyptian Pharaohs

Researchers have pinpointed the date of what could be the oldest solar eclipse yet recorded. The event, which occurred on 30 October 1207 BC, is mentioned in the Bible, and could have consequences...
“Diamond Ring” effect of a total solar eclipse. Aug. 11, 1999 in Bulgaria.

Total Solar Eclipse of 2017: How Rare Cosmic Event Gave Rise to Ancient Myths and Legends

Today, August 21, America will darken under the path of a total solar eclipse. This rare and spectacular astronomical alignment, when the Moon appears to completely cover the sun, shadowing the...
Main: Temple of Aton in Amarna (CC by SA 3.0). Inset eclipse (public domain)

Eclipse over Amarna: Beginning of the End for Akhenaten in his City of Light?

The ancient Egyptian civilization was wedded to the Sun, and yet, extant records only ever mention the solar aspect as the giver and sustainer of life that shines brightly for all eternity. Sterling...
Total eclipse of the Sun, June 8, 1918, Howard Russell Butler

The Life and Death Power of Eclipses in the Ancient World

On Monday, August 21, people living in the continental United States will be able to see a total solar eclipse. Humans have been alternatively amused, puzzled, bewildered and sometimes even terrified...
Main: Total eclipse of the sun taken on 9 March 1997 (CC by SA 3.0). Inset: The petroglyph in Chaco Canyon, which may represent a solar eclipse. Credit: University of Colorado

Peculiar Petroglyph in Chaco Canyon Could Depict a Total Solar Eclipse

Experts say an ancient petroglyph on a free-standing rock in Chaco Canyon could possibly portray the solar eclipse that occurred over New Mexico on July 11, 1097. The rare petroglyph shows a circle...
Total eclipse of the sun, Chita, Russia, 1997.

A War Ending Phenomenon: Total Solar Eclipse Occurring on August 21 in the US

When a total solar eclipse occurred just over 2,600 years ago, on May 28, 585 BC, the sight of it is believed to have been the main reason for the end of the battle between the Medes and the Lydians...
Deriv; 5th century BC Achaemenid-era carving of Persian and Median soldiers in traditional costume and eclipse

Kings of the Umman Manda (Media): Warnings and Omens – Part II

Once Cyaxares had finalized the conquest of Urartu, he handed it over to a certain tribe of Scythians who had inhabited the region of Armenia beforehand and thus extended their domain. It is said...
“Diamond Ring” effect of a total solar eclipse. Aug. 11, 1999 in Bulgaria.

Solar Eclipse of 2016: Rare Celestial Phenomenon Birthed Ancient Myths and Legends

The only total solar eclipse of 2016 is set to darken the skies over Indonesia. Visible largely across the archipelago, this rare natural phenomenon will happen on the morning of March 9 and is...
Supermoon

Exploring Ancient Lunar Legends as first Supermoon in Three Decades set to Dazzle Tonight

The moon has been an object of worship, veneration, and intrigue among ancient civilizations for thousands of years. Now, it is set to capture our admiration once again as a Supermoon lunar eclipse,...
One of the Loughcrew eclipse rocks (IrishCentral)

Ancient Irish Were the First Known to Mark an Eclipse in Stone

More than 5,000 years ago people in Ireland carved a representation of an eclipse into three stones at a megalithic monument—the first known recording of a solar eclipse, scholars say. Researchers...
Solar Eclipse

Ancient Myths and Legends Served to Explain the Startling Phenomenon of Solar Eclipse

A solar eclipse is set to darken the sky over Europe, as well as parts of Asia, North West Africa, and North America in the biggest eclipse since 1999. Expected to plunge some countries into 98...
Astronomical Writing in Cyprus Figurines

Religious statues from Cyprus show evidence of astronomical writing

An analysis of five late Bronze Age Terracotta religious statues , dating back around 3,300 years and found at various sites in Cyprus, has revealed the presence of astronomical ‘writing’, which has...
Antikythera Mechanism

The incredible inner workings of ancient Antikythera mechanism explained

The Antikythera mechanism is one of the most amazing mechanical devices discovered from the ancient world. For decades, scientists have utilized the latest technology in attempts to decipher its...