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...

2 comments

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...

2 comments
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...

1 comment

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

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.