Ancient astronomy

The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north and south celestial latitude of the ecliptic – the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. Within this zodiac belt appear the Moon and the brightest planets, along their orbital planes. The zodiac is divided along the ecliptic into 12 equal parts, called "signs", each occupying 30° of celestial longitude. These signs roughly correspond to the astronomical constellations with the following modern names: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius

system of calendars used in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica

thumb|The rising Sun illuminates the inner chamber of [[Newgrange, Ireland, only at the winter solstice.]]

Astronomy as practiced in the Hellenistic world of classical antiquity

assertion that the Earth is (at least approximately) spherical

thumb|An artist's depiction of the early Hebrew conception of the cosmos. The firmament (raqia), Sheol, and [[Tehom are depicted.]]

ancient philosophical concept that regards proportions in the movements of celestial bodies as a form of music

ancient Roman statue of Greek Deity

overview of astronomy in Ancient Egypt

solar eclipse

legend

ancient Egyptian artifact of carved sandstone, now in the Louvre

work by Cicero

seven non-fixed astronomical objects in the sky visible to the naked eye: Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Mercury, the Sun, and the Moon

solar eclipse

solar eclipse mentioned in a text dating to the reign of Mursili II that could be of great importance for the chronology of the Hittite Empire

islands or continents supposedly existing during prehistory, having since disappeared

thumb|A Nommo figure of the Tellem people

branches of thought about the celestial bodies

thumb|upright=1.35|'Diagonal star table' from the late Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt|Eleventh Dynasty coffin lid; found at [[Asyut, Egypt. Roemer- und Pelizaeus-Museum Hildesheim]] The decans (; ) are 36 groups of stars (small constellations) used in ancient Egyptian astronomy to conveniently divide the 360 degree ecliptic into 36 parts of 10 degrees each, both for theurgical and heliacal chronometrical purposes. The decans each appeared, geocentrically, to rise consecutively on the horizon throughout each daily Earth rotation. The rising of each decan marked the beginning of a new decanal "hour"

thumb|Intihuatana (the corner broken) Intihuatana is a ritual stone in South America associated with the astronomic clock or calendar of the Inca. Its name is derived from the local Quechua language. The most notable Intihuantana is an archaeological site located at Machu Picchu in the Sacred Valley near Machu Picchu, Peru. The name of the stone (coined perhaps by Hiram Bingham) is derived from Quechua: inti means "sun", and wata- is the verb root "to tie, hitch (up)" (huata- is simply a Spanish spelling). The Quechua -na suffix derives nouns for tools or places. Hence inti watana is literally

Collection of ancient Egyptian astronomical texts

study of the Moon, planets, Milky Way, Sun, and astronomical phenomena by the Precolumbian Maya Civilization of Mesoamerica

Trepidation (from Lat. trepidus, "trepidatious"), in now-obsolete medieval theories of astronomy, refers to hypothetical oscillation in the precession of the equinoxes. The theory was popular from the 9th to the 16th centuries.

Study of space in Tibet

any of various hypothetical planets thought to have existed

astronomy written in Hebrew or by Hebrew speakers