ASTRONOMY

When we look up to the sky at night we see never-
ending stars sparkles across the infinite abyss that
fascinates so many people. As captivating as the night
sky is, there are also many scientific facts, spiritual
beliefs, practical uses, and other interesting truths
connected to the sky.
The stars in the night sky make up many constellations and galaxies. One of the most
well-known constellations in the Southern Hemisphere is the Southern Cross. Not only
is the Southern Cross a cornerstone of Australian culture, it is also a useful navigation
tool. The Southern Cross can be used to find the South Celestial Pole. There are a
couple of ways to find South from the Southern Cross, as shown in the diagrams below.

The stars we see in the sky can seem random and can
look different every night, and some of them aren’t even
stars but are planets. So how can we know what we are
actually looking at? First it is important know that where
you are in the world affects what you see. Due to South
Australia’s southerly location, the stars go around the sky
in a circle over the course of the night. For example, in
April, the Southern Cross is on its side in the early
evening, but it becomes more upright towards midnight,
before rotating again to be opposite where it began.
However, if we were looking at the night sky from the
equator, the stars would rise in the east and set in the Another set of well-known constellations are the zodiac constellations, popularly used
west. Clearly, where we are positioned in the world for horoscopes. We never see all 12 zodiac constellation at once, but can usually see at
impacts what we see in the night sky. It is essentially our least four across the sky at any time. Your zodiac sign, or ‘star sign’, should actually be
latitude that makes all the difference; places with similar called a ‘sun sign’, because it is determined by the position of the sun in relation to the
latitudes see similar night skies. This means that while zodiac constellation at time of birth. For example, a person considered a ‘Libra’ was
Adelaide and Santiago (capital of Chile) are on opposite born when the Libra constellation was hidden behind the sun at the time of birth. Aside
sides of the world, we see the same constellations from the zodiac constellations, we can also see the Milky Way, some neighbouring
spinning past us at night. What we see at night also galaxies, and other globular clusters (spherical clumps of stars that orbit galaxies).
depends on atmospheric conditions at the time, as well
As mentioned earlier, it is not just stars in the night sky. If you’re on the lookout for
as light pollution. The conditions of the atmosphere can
planets, then you need to know that all planets (including Earth) orbit the Sun in almost
mean the stars look bright and strong one night, and
the same plane. This means that the Sun and all other plants follow in each other’s path
then faint and flickering the next night. Light pollution
across the sky. So to see one of the five brightest planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Mars,
explains why it is easier to see the stars out in the
Mercury or Venus) then you should start by looking at the path the Sun travelled on
country compared to in big cities. Australia has actually
during the day.
just had its first ‘Dark Sky Park’ designated in country
NSW, in hopes to preserve our night skies.
 ASTRONOMY
Astronomy is considered one of the Earth’s oldest sciences, and
Indigenous Australian’s are recognised as some of the Earth’s earliest
astronomers. The night sky was used as a calendar, indicator of weather
patterns and seasons, breeding cycles of animals, and hence the
availability of different food sources. Along with this, Indigenous
Australian’s used stars for navigation to landscape features and important
community places. The night sky also holds spiritual significance, and the
stars were used to teach values amongst communities. Many dreamtime
stories were passed on to young children as different constellations
appeared throughout the year. One example of this is The Emu:

During the Dreaming, a blind man lived with his wife in the bush. Every day
he told his wife to go out and hunt for emu eggs for him to eat. Even
though his wife tried hard to please her husband, he was always angry with
her, telling her that the eggs were too small. One day while she was out
hunting, she came across some very large emu tracks. She thought of her
husband and how angry he got, and followed the tracks all the way to the
nest. She found a huge emu there and threw stones at it to get at the eggs,
but it stood up and ran towards her and killed her. The blind man became
hungry and worried about his wife. He felt around the camp until he came
across a bush with some berries on it and ate some of them. Suddenly he
could see. He made some spears and a woomera and set off to find his
wife. He followed her tracks and finally saw the huge emu and the body of
his wife. He speared the emu and banished its spirit to the Milky Way,
where it can still be seen today. — a story from Papunya, Northern
Territory

References:
Aboriginal Astronomy. Retrieved from http://www.emudreaming.com/whatis.htm
Hobbs, B. (2017). A beginner's guide to finding stars and planets. Retrieved from
http://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2017-04-04/a-beginners-guide-to-finding-
planets-and-constellations/8373718
Steffens, M. (2009). Australia's first astronomers » Beginner's Guide to the Night
Sky (ABC Science). Retrieved from
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2009/07/27/2632463.htm