Category: Cultural Astronomy
-
Birrigai Rock Shelter
Local people have visited Birrigai Rock Shelter, in what is now Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, Canberra, since the height of the last Ice Age. Migrating Bogong Moths provided them with a rich food source. Recently, scientists have discovered that the moths navigate their way to Birrigai using the Milky Way.
-
Statue of Gilgamesh
Sydney University’s statue of the mythic Mesopotamian cultural hero Gilgamesh, by Lewis Batros, takes us back to a time when people in southwestern Eurasia were inscribing their stories on clay tablets. One of these is the eponymous Epic which encodes ancestral sky knowledge, including still-familiar constellations of stars.
-
Gaanha bula (Mount Canobolas)
Gaarnha Bula Mount Canobolas, an extinct volcano near Orange, NSW, stands 1,390 meters above sea level. It is culturally significant to Wiradjuri people and a biodiversity hotspot, with diverse flora, fauna and fungi. It also hosts many communication towers, recreational activities, including stargazing, and many farms and vineyards on its…
-
Sydney Observatory
Sydney Observatory, on Observatory Hill, Millers Point, is a historic astronomical observatory completed in 1858. It is now part of the city’s Powerhouse Museum. It offers public tours and educational programs and exhibits related to astronomy, including Indigenous astronomy. It remains a significant landmark in the city.
