65,000 Years of Indigenous Astronomy
Posted on: Thu 6 Aug 2020
Research over centuries has continued to uncover more about the astronomical beliefs and systems of the world’s oldest living culture. It turns out that Indigenous Australians had developed understandings of Earth’s place in the solar system potentially millennia before Galileo.
Kirsten Banks is an astrophysicist and avid science communicator specialising in what is still known of Indigenous Australian astronomical systems, specifically her Wiradjuri heritage.
Light pollution has obscured much of what was originally visible to Australia’s original custodians, however some constellations remain in the sky.
For National Science Week (15th to the 23rd of August), the ANU Astronomy Society have organised a number of online forums hosted by Kirsten Banks available for open discussion around Indigenous Australian Astronomy.
Kirsten joins Breakfast’s Tom Mann and Zoe Kounadis to discuss this fascinating history. You can join and ask questions of Kirsten over two 40 minute Zoom conferences on the 17th or 18th of August, with tickets available here.
Produced by Leon Bishop
Image sourced: Anna Kucera
