The Origin of Astronomy

Three thousand years ago, Egyptians believed that the torso of the sky goddess, Nut, cradled the stars. She was responsible for swallowing the sun each evening which would then travel through her body to be born again as the morning.

Early Greeks believed that the earth was enclosed in a giant sheild-like sphere which would protect it from distant fires and that the stars shone through holes in this sphere.

We can also look to the Bible which tells of the three wisemen looking to the north star for direction.

These are only a few of the many ideas that ancient cultures expressed in order to explain the universe and their origins. The origin of astronomy did not begin as a science, but more likely as a part of early religions. For example the Egyptian sky goddess, Nut, had the power to grant them day or night. Ancient Greeks also believed in them.Gods such as Zeus and Helios were only two among the many that they worshipped. Zeus was the god of all other gods as well as the light and the sky. Helios was the god of the sun. He was responsible for driving his chariot, dragging the sun behind him so that the earth would experience day and night.

This was a precursor for what we were to learn about the universe. These ancient cultures however gave us enough curiosity to want to try and explain our natural surroundings.

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