Astronomy

Summer Solstice in ancient Ireland: fourteen monuments or sacred sites with midsummer solar alignments

Summer Solstice in ancient Ireland: fourteen mo...

It’s hard to believe it has been almost six months since lots of us celebrated the Winter Solstice sunrise at Newgrange. Summer Solstice is fast approaching, bringing with it the...

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Summer Solstice in ancient Ireland: fourteen mo...

It’s hard to believe it has been almost six months since lots of us celebrated the Winter Solstice sunrise at Newgrange. Summer Solstice is fast approaching, bringing with it the...

1 comment
How the Moon’s 19-year Metonic Cycle could have been observed in Neolithic Ireland

How the Moon’s 19-year Metonic Cycle could have...

Why was the moon important to prehistoric people like those who built the great Stone Age monuments of the Boyne Valley? Was it even important at all? Even today, I...

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How the Moon’s 19-year Metonic Cycle could have...

Why was the moon important to prehistoric people like those who built the great Stone Age monuments of the Boyne Valley? Was it even important at all? Even today, I...

6 comments
Sirius, The Dog Star, Shone into Newgrange when it was Built

Sirius, The Dog Star, Shone into Newgrange when...

Newgrange is famously aligned so that the rays of winter solstice sunrise enter its roof box and shine deep into the chamber. But was it also built so that the...

3 comments

Sirius, The Dog Star, Shone into Newgrange when...

Newgrange is famously aligned so that the rays of winter solstice sunrise enter its roof box and shine deep into the chamber. But was it also built so that the...

3 comments
The Cygnus Enigma

The Cygnus Enigma

The Cygnus Enigma examines the link between megalithic passage-mound of Newgrange, the myths which relate to that eminent monument, and other interesting factors which together form a fascinating ancient mystery. In...

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The Cygnus Enigma

The Cygnus Enigma examines the link between megalithic passage-mound of Newgrange, the myths which relate to that eminent monument, and other interesting factors which together form a fascinating ancient mystery. In...

1 comment
Ancient Astronomers of the Stone Age

Ancient Astronomers of the Stone Age

Some time after 6,000 years ago, a remarkable community of people arose on this island. They were the megalithic builders – farmers, astronomers and engineers. They left monumental, indelible structures crafted from stone...

1 comment

Ancient Astronomers of the Stone Age

Some time after 6,000 years ago, a remarkable community of people arose on this island. They were the megalithic builders – farmers, astronomers and engineers. They left monumental, indelible structures crafted from stone...

1 comment
Calendars for the Sun, Moon, and Stars

Calendars for the Sun, Moon, and Stars

The Boyne Valley passage-mounds attract worldwide attention and undoubtedly deserve World Heritage Site status. Archaeologists say that they are primarily burial mounds. Gillies Macbain argues that a wider perspective is needed,...

2 comments

Calendars for the Sun, Moon, and Stars

The Boyne Valley passage-mounds attract worldwide attention and undoubtedly deserve World Heritage Site status. Archaeologists say that they are primarily burial mounds. Gillies Macbain argues that a wider perspective is needed,...

2 comments
Metonic Cycle: The 19-Year Cycle of the Moon

Metonic Cycle: The 19-Year Cycle of the Moon

What is the Metonic Cycle of the moon? Here's a very interesting question which many astronomers would initially imagine is easy to answer: "If you saw the full moon above Orion tonight,...

4 comments

Metonic Cycle: The 19-Year Cycle of the Moon

What is the Metonic Cycle of the moon? Here's a very interesting question which many astronomers would initially imagine is easy to answer: "If you saw the full moon above Orion tonight,...

4 comments
The Cosmic Vision of Ireland's Ancient Astronomers

The Cosmic Vision of Ireland's Ancient Astronomers

Dark Skies - Unraveling the cosmic vision of Ireland's Ancient Astronomers. An article by Anthony Murphy published as the cover story in the July 2008 issue of Astronomy & Space...

The Cosmic Vision of Ireland's Ancient Astronomers

Dark Skies - Unraveling the cosmic vision of Ireland's Ancient Astronomers. An article by Anthony Murphy published as the cover story in the July 2008 issue of Astronomy & Space...

Old Irish Zodiac - the constellations of the Zodiac as they are known in the Irish language.

Old Irish Zodiac - the constellations of the Zo...

Old Irish Zodiac - the constellations of the Zodiac as they are known in the Irish language.

Old Irish Zodiac - the constellations of the Zo...

Old Irish Zodiac - the constellations of the Zodiac as they are known in the Irish language.

How on Earth did Newgrange Handle Leap Year

How on Earth did Newgrange Handle Leap Year

In this article, Gillies MacBain examines whether the builders of Newgrange were aware of the leap year – how they might have discovered it and what they might have done...

How on Earth did Newgrange Handle Leap Year

In this article, Gillies MacBain examines whether the builders of Newgrange were aware of the leap year – how they might have discovered it and what they might have done...

The Equinoxes - What Significance did they have to Stone Age Astronomers?

The Equinoxes - What Significance did they have...

What did equinox mean to a Neolithic astronomer? Anthony Murphy examines our definition of the equinoxes and how this would not have been relevant in the Stone Age. So why...

The Equinoxes - What Significance did they have...

What did equinox mean to a Neolithic astronomer? Anthony Murphy examines our definition of the equinoxes and how this would not have been relevant in the Stone Age. So why...

Anthony's Photographic Prints of Astronomy

Photos of the sun, moon, stars, planets and astronomical phenomena. I have been an astronomer since I was a young boy. It is the oldest of my hobbies.
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