Why are there 7 days in a week and 12 months in a year? What do stars have to do with it? Long ago, people looked up at the night sky. They made up stories to explain the speckled dots of lights. The ancients divided up the year into weeks and days. They assigned “stars” to days and groups of stars to months. We may not know all their stories and beliefs, but we still tell time the same way. Inside this book are the reasons why.

Why are there 7 days in a week and 12 months in a year? What do stars have to do with it? Long ago, people looked up at the night sky. They made up stories to explain the speckled dots of lights. The ancients divided up the year into weeks and days. They assigned “stars” to days and groups of stars to months. We may not know all their stories and beliefs, but we still tell time the same way. Inside this book are the reasons why!

Why are there 7 days in a week and 12 months in a year? What do stars have to do with it? Long ago, people looked up at the night sky. They made up stories to explain the speckled dots of lights. The ancients divided up the year into weeks and days. They assigned “stars” to days and groups of stars to months. We may not know all their stories and beliefs, but we still tell time the same way. Inside this book are the reasons why.

A book of twelve star-gazing activities, one for each month of the year.

This groundbreaking volume provides an up-to-date, accessible guide to Sanskrit astronomical tables and their analysis. It begins with an overview of Indian mathematical astronomy and its literature, including table texts, in the context of history of pre-modern astronomy. It then discusses the primary mathematical astronomy content of table texts and the attempted taxonomy of this genre before diving into the broad outlines of their representation in the Sanskrit scientific manuscript corpus. Finally, the authors survey the major categories of individual tables compiled in these texts, complete with brief analyses of some of the methods for constructing and using them, and then chronicle the evolution of the table-text genre and the impacts of its changing role on the discipline of Sanskrit jyotiṣa. There are also three appendices: one inventories all the identified individual works in the genre currently known to the authors; one provides reference information about the details of all the notational, calendric, astronomical, and other classification systems invoked in the study; and one serves as a glossary of the relevant Sanskrit terms.

MUL.APIN, written sometime before the 8th century BC, was the most widely copied astronomical text in ancient Mesopotamia: a compendium including information such as star lists, descriptions of planetary phases, mathematical schemes for the length of day and night, a discussion of the luni-solar calendar and rules for intercalation, and a short collection of celestial omens. This book contains an introductory essay, followed by a new edition of the text and a facing-page transliteration and English translation. Finally, the book contains a new and detailed commentary on the text. This is a fascinating study, and an important resource for anyone interested in the history of astronomy.

"The Astronomy of the Bible" is a 1907 treatise by E. Walter Maunder that explores the various astronomical references in the Bible. This volume will appeal to those with an interest in ancient astrology, and it is not to be missed by collectors of vintage literature of this ilk. Contents: "The Hebrew and Astronomy", "The Creation", "The Deep", "The Firmament", "The Ordinances of the Heavens", "The Sun", "The Hebrew and Astronomy", "The Creation", "The Deep", "The Firmament", "The Ordinances of the Heavens", "The Sun", etc. Edward Walter Maunder (1851 - 1928) was a British astronomer most famous for his work on sunspots and the solar magnetic cycle. His studies lead to the identification of the "Maunder Minimum", a period of time that spanned from 1645 to 1715. Other notable works by this author : "The Royal Observatory" (1900), "Astronomy without a Telescope" (1904), "A. and E" (1910). Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with the original text and artwork.

An authoritative introduction to the fascinating topic of archaeoastronomy—ancient peoples' understanding and use of the skies. Ancient Astronomy: An Encyclopedia of Cosmologies and Myth draws on archaeological evidence and oral traditions to reveal how prehistoric humans perceived the skies and celestial phenomena. With over 200 entries, it offers a number of ways to approach ancient astronomy, from key examples and case studies worldwide (Stonehenge; Mexican and Egyptian pyramids; Chaco Canyon, New Mexico; the Nazca lines in Peru) to general themes (cosmologies, calendars, ancient ideas of space and time, origin myths), to fundamental concepts and methods (how the sky has changed over the centuries, how to survey a site), and to the field's most frequently asked questions (How did ancient peoples navigate the ocean using the stars? How does astrology relate to ancient astronomy? Can ancient sites be dated astronomically?) By revealing the astronomical significance of some of the world's most famous ancient landmarks and enduring myths and by showing how different themes and concepts are connected, Ancient Astronomy: An Encyclopedia of Cosmologies and Myth brings a unique authoritative perspective to an area too often left to speculation and sensationalism.