AST lesson 3
1. What 2 characteristics of the planet Venus caused the Mayans to identify it as a special kind of star? Why did they worship this planet?
(1) Next to the Sun and the Moon, Venus is the brightest object in the sky. In the given night, Venus moves with the stars due to the Earth's spin, but from night to night Venus changes its position relative to the stars revealing itself as a planet (Greek for wanderer). Venus moves relative to the stars it is not fixed into a constellation. Kukulkan, disappeared in the mountains. Shortly after his disappearance planet Venus appeared over where he disappeared. (2)The Mayans believed that Venus was their god Kukulkan.
7. From what civilization did we inherit our units of time and angle? (e.g. 60 minutes in 1 hour, 360 degrees in a circle.) Why are there so many 60s in these units?
Babylonian Number System: A base-60 system (i.e. consisting of symbols of 1-60 multiplied by the power of 60) because 60 has many factors (a coinvent base of division). They therefore used units that are multiples of 60: E.g.: 60 min= 1 hours, 60 sec= one min,360 degrees= a circle, 60 arcminutes= one degrees, 60 arcseconds= one arcminutes.
14. Why do we now use the Gregorian calendar instead of the Julian calendar?
Cleopatra and Caesar: 46 BC on the advice of the Egyptian astronomer Sosigenes, Julius Caesar incorporated the 4 leap-year-day into the Julian calendar between February and March (a 365-day calendar with 12 months of 28-31 days) This still created an error because there was still 11.5 mins remaining and in the 16th C: Pope Gregory XIII fixed the 11.5 min error by decreeing: years divisible by 100 (but not 400) are leap years. This is our modern Gregorian Calendar.
3 star-like phenomena that match the description of the Star of Bethlehem: rocky snowball in orbit around sun (can appear as temporary star
Comet:
11. Why do we see different stars and constellations at different times of the year?
Due to Earth's annual orbit around the sun, our visible window of stars changes each night, so the stars we see can tell us the time of year.
was the sky god and the most powerful of the ancient Maya deities
Kukulcan
4. Look up the date of the most recent heliacal rise of Venus, and use this to figure out Venus' current appearance. Is it visible or invisible? If it's visible, is it a morning or evening star? Is it getting brigher or dimmer? It it's invisible, why is this?
Most recent helical rise was in March 2017. This means that it is visible for the time being and it is a morning star now it is getting dimmer because it is heading towards Superior Conjunction.
3 star-like phenomena that match the description of the Star of Bethlehem: re-ignition of dead star, which has yanked fresh gas (star fuel) from companion star (can appear as sudden temporary star)
Nova:
12. Why did the Ancient Egyptians divide the day into 24 hours?
On average, 12 set of constellations rises every night, therefore there would be 12 hours of night and 12 hours of day.
16. What is the only plausible celestial event to explain the Star of Bethlehem? Describe what this event looks like and why it occurs.
Planetary Conjunction: multiple planets line up in the same region of sky appearing as a bright star because of their overlapping. Describe what this event looks like and why it occurs. Star-like but rare and predictable event with astrological importance, planetary conjunction is possible because we can see Jupiter and Saturn lined up during that time. Looks like planets coming together in the sky.
name one of the 5 visible planets: this is the second brightest planet, and is known for its massive size. The Babylonian's were unaware of the actual size because they did not have telescope but, they couldn't see it was very bright and its motion from night to night is very slow and stately compared to other planets.
Roman/Greek: Jupiter/ Zeus Babylonian: Marduk: Supreme God. Jupiter
name one of the 5 visible planets: has a reddish glow that is composed of Iron. This is scientifically proven due to the rovers that have landed on this planet, there is also a satellite that orbits around Mars. They both named it this, after the God of war.
Roman/Greek: Mars/Ares the God of War Babylonian: Nergal the God of war Mars
name one of the 5 visible planets: this has a relatively fast motion from night to night, this is what makes it so distinguishable. It only takes about four months for this to complete its orbit/path around the Sun.
Roman/Greek: Mercury/ Hermes, messenger God Babylonian: Nabu, God of wisdom and writing. Because it was known for its speed, like fast messenger Gods.
8. Where are the zodiac constellations? Why were they significant to the Babylonian astrologers? Why can we not see our astrological constellation in the month we were born?
The constellations on the ecliptic (the zodiac constellations Greek for "Circle of Animals") held an importance, as the Sun, Moon and Planets, move along the strip of the sky. Your zodiac sign is defined as the constellation that the sun is in front of in the month one is born. Thus, sun is blocking it. Your Zodiac sign is the Sun's constellation during the daytime in the month that you are born. 6 months later you can see the constellation at nighttime. Due to the precession of the equinoxes, the Sun's constellations have changed since the zodiac signs were aligned 2000 years ago, this shifting of the suns monthly constellation is called the recession of the equinoxes an example would be a Scorpio becomes a Libra. Because your zodiac sign is the constellation that the sun is in front of in the month of your birth. So, during this month, you can't see this constellation, the sky is too bright with the Sun up.
2. What is a "heliacal rise" of Venus? What is it about Venus' appearance at this time that made it a day of worship for the Maya?
The helical rise of Venus is when Venus reappears as its morning star, before sunrise this is its first appearance after the disappearance for about eight days it then appears for 234 days of the year. Venuses appearance on this day is significant to the Mayans worship because it commerates the day that Kluculcan disappeared. .
10. What was the primary motivation for studying the sky in Ancient Egypt?
The sky was used to determine the yearly Nile river floods through the helical rise of Sirius. It was also used as a mechanism to tell time for worship.
6. What was it about the geography and climate conditions in the region of Ancient Babylon that motivated the Babylonians to study the sky?
They relied on astrology because they didn't have a constant rain season, this caused them to turn to the Gods for direction.
15. What are 3 star-like phenomena that match the description of the Star of Bethlehem? Briefly describe each one. Why is it unlikely that the Star of Bethlehem was any of these phenomena?
Unlikely as no other civilization recorded sighting around 0 BC Super Nova: explosive death of massive star (can appear as temporary star: "nova Stella" =new star) Nova: re-ignition of dead star, which has yanked fresh gas (star fuel) from companion star (can appear as sudden temporary star) Comet: rocky snowball in orbit around sun (can appear as temporary star
Your zodiac sign is defined as the
constellation that the sun is in front of in the month one is born.
3. When is Venus seen (morning or evening) during the 236 days after its bright heliacal rise? Is it getting brighter or dimmer, and why? Why does it disappear after this period? When it finally reappears, is it a morning or evening star? For the next 250 days, is it getting brighter or dimmer? Why does it disappear again after this period, before its next heliacal rise?
during the 236 days after its heliacal rise, Venus is seen in the morning. It is getting dimmer as Venus gets further away from the earth. It disappears after this period because Venus travels behind the sun at superior conjunction (too bright to see). When it finally reappears, it is an evening star. For the next 250 days, it is getting brighter; it disappears again because it enters the inferior conjunction, where Venus's dark side faces earth.
name one of the 5 visible planets: supreme god, second brightest planet
jupiter
name one of the 5 visible planets: war god, reddish-glow
mars
name one of the 5 visible planets: messenger god/wisdom and writing - fast moving planet
mercury
name one of the 5 visible planets: harvest, big in size, but much slower and not very bright
saturn
name one of the 5 visible planets: love and beauty god, brightest star
venus
9. For each of the 5 visible planets, what aspect of their appearance was used to choose the Babylonian/Greek god to name them for?
Roman/Greek: Mercury/ Hermes, messenger God Babylonian: Nabu, God of wisdom and writing. Because it was known for its speed, like fast messenger Gods. Mercury has a relatively fast motion from night to night, this is what makes it so distinguishable. It only takes about four months for Mercury to complete its orbit/path around the Sun. Roman/Greek: Venus/Aphrodite, the Goddess of love, Babylonian: Ishtar, Goddess of love Brightest planet in the sky next to the Sun and the Moon, close to the size of the Earth, and closest. This planet was both named after the Goddesses of love and beauty. Roman/Greek: Mars/Ares the God of War Babylonian: Nergal the God of war Mars has a reddish glow that is composed of Iron. This is scientifically proven due to the rovers that have landed on Mars, there is also a satellite that orbits around Mars. They both named Mars after the God of war. Roman/Greek: Jupiter/ Zeus Babylonian: Marduk: Supreme God. Jupiter is the second brightest planet, and is known for its massive size. The Babylonian's were unaware of the actual size because they did not have telescope but, they couldn't see it was very bright and its motion from night to night is very slow and stately compared to other planets. Roman/Greek: Saturn/Kronos God of harvest/old age Babylonian: Ninurta, Farmer-God Is not very bright, but is known for its massive size, its much slower. Both named Jupiter after harvest/old-age which would be fitting for such a slow planet
name one of the 5 visible planets: Is not very bright, but is known for its massive size, its much slower. Both named Jupiter after harvest/old-age which would be fitting for such a slow planet
Roman/Greek: Saturn/Kronos God of harvest/old age Babylonian: Ninurta, Farmer-God
name one of the 5 visible planets: Brightest planet in the sky next to the Sun and the Moon, close to the size of the Earth, and closest. This planet was both named after the Goddesses of love and beauty.
Roman/Greek: Venus/Aphrodite, the Goddess of love, Babylonian: Ishtar, Goddess of love
13. Why do we add a leap day every 4 years? Who incorporated this rule into our calendar, and from what civilization did he learn this rule from?
Since the solar year = 365.242 days, the civic calendar gradually fell behind the season on the advice of the Egyptian astronomer Sosigenes, Julius Caesar incorporated the 4-year leap- day into the Julian calendar (a 365-day calendar with 12 months of 28 - 31 days).
5. in the Dresden codex, what do the pages containing the rows of 4 Tzolk'in dates represent? What is the significance of the total number of rows in the table?
Six pages of the Dresden Codex contain illustrations of a Mayan war hero Kluclucan who was defied and linked with the Planet Venus. On each page, bottom four numbers are the # of days between the two appearances and disappearances of Venus. Each row gives the Mayan dates of appearances and disappearances in each 584-day Venus cycle. The table spans one complete cycle of Mayan dates for these events, so they are predicted for eternity. This is the evidence we have of the Mayans connections with Venus did not derive from their thirst for knowledge but, their religious associations with the celestial bodies. The Dresden Codex describes in detail how the planet Venus moves in the sky; and it includes predictions for its future motion that are accurate to one day in 500 years. LOOK AT LESSON3 BONUS DOC FOR CHART Rotations and Visibility # of days Morning Star (after the helical rise) 236 appears Invisible (Superior Conjunction) 90 disappears Evening Star 250 appears Invisible (after Inferior Conjunction). 8 disappears Total 584 The row containing the 4 Tzolk'in dates represent the 2 days when Venus appears and 2 days when Venus disappear from the sky. The total number of rows in the table represents how the table can be used for eternity (65 rows representing 65 cycles for it to repeat itself)
3 star-like phenomena that match the description of the Star of Bethlehem: explosive death of massive star (can appear as temporary star:
Super Nova: "nova Stella" =new star)
describe Mayans - Kukulkan
The Mayans believed that Venus was their god Kukulkan. This hero, Kukulkan, disappeared in the mountains one day, and then the planet venus rose at the exact spot where Kukulkan had disappeared, where they noticed that the star was shining particularly brightly. From that moment, the Mayans believed that the planet had embodied Kukulkan
