Minoan civilization may have been heavily dependent on celestial star paths up above to help them navigate their way throughout the Mediterranean. A study has found that Minoan palaces were even...
In 2012, a student at Cambridge University identified what he suspected was an ancient Greek star map hidden behind text in a medieval codex. Compiled with astronomical data from the 2nd century AD,...
Until today, the Nebra Sky Disk was known as the oldest concrete depiction of cosmic phenomena worldwide. Scholars believed it was a 3,600-year-old artifact depicting a sun or full moon, a lunar...
Astronomy played an important role in many ancient societies. Through this natural science, the ancients were able to make calendars, navigate during the night, and even explore the nature of the...
The Histories by Herodotus (484BC to 425BC) offers a remarkable window into the world as it was known by ancient Greek astronomy in the mid fifth century BC. Almost as interesting as what they knew,...
The Korean peninsula is known for many things. One thing that may be less well known about Korean culture is its contribution to world astronomy. One particularly visible contribution is the oldest...
Egypt’s Pyramids of Giza were always my favorite ancient mystery growing up. I was forever debating whether they were high-tech super machines or massive tombs of the pharaohs. Their odd angled...
Stars have life cycles. They're born when bits of dust and gas floating through space find each other and collapse in on each other and heat up. They burn for millions to billions of years, and then...
Armenia is full of archaeological surprises. It is a country where mysterious stories appear at every corner and most of them still wait to be solved. However, one of the greatest stories of...
The world’s largest radio telescope is expected to come online sometime in 2020. The S quare Kilometre Array (SKA) is an internationally sponsored and funded initiative that will include more than...
The Waitomo Glowworm Cave is a magnificent subterranean cave system in Waitomo, New Zealand, which as its name suggests, is renowned for its glowworm population. The glowworms, sometimes referred to...
In Brihat-Samhita , Indian astronomer Varahamihira (505–587 CE) says that "Mothers are to be made with cognizance of gods corresponding to their names” leading to the birth of Matrikas (“Divine...
The discovery of the Pylos Combat Agate in a Mycenaean shaft-grave tomb dating to 1500 BC may be one of the most significant archaeological and artistic finds in decades, perhaps in centuries. The...
Look up on any clear night and you can see myriad stars, planets, and the Milky Way stretching across the sky. The chances are that you know some of the constellations. The International Astronomical...
Modern astrology as we know it – in the form of a yearly, monthly or daily horoscope – is based on a celestial coordinate system known as the “zodiac”, a Greek word that means the circle of life. And...
Several mounds of the Charleston works featured these cup marked stones. Along the Elk River North of Charleston, Norris excavated a conical mound 50 feet (15 meters) broad and five feet (1.5 meters...