Aboriginal astronomy the star of dreamtime stories abc. Astronomy is deeply embedded in many of the 300odd aboriginal cultures across australia, all of which share some common roots such as a belief in the dreaming a time beyond time when creator spirits roamed the earth, could move easily between earth and sky. Sep 07, 2011 this week, i present the small booklet written by ray and cilla norris and a poster developed by their son barnaby. Working closely with indigenous elders and communities, read more. He received an honours degree in theoretical physics at cambridge university, uk, and then a phd at manchester university, uk. We summarise the literature on aboriginal references to eclipses, showing that many aboriginal groups. Norris the circumgalactic medium cgm of the massive spiderweb galaxy, a conglomerate of merging protocluster galaxies at z2. How did aboriginal and torres strait islander people use the sun, moon and stars for practical and social purposes. A map showing the various aboriginal language groups can be found on the aiatsis site here. The textbook was totally and utterly wrong ray norris, astrophysicist astronomer at the australia telescope national facility.
This is the first novel from ray norris, a british and australian astrophysicist whose dayjob is to research the origin and evolution of galaxies shortly after the big bang. Sadly, you have to choose one or the other to make a career. Aboriginal knowledge amazes evolutionist astronomer. Professor ray norris, csiro, talks about his work on aboriginal astronomy. Were indigenous australians the firstever astronomers. Conventional wisdom says that australias aboriginal people have occupied the land for at least 40,000 years. He also researches australian aboriginal astronomy, and the astronomy of british bronzeage stone circles and other megalithic monuments. Hamacher2 1csiro australia telescope national facility po box 76, epping, nsw, 1710, australia email.
Aboriginal people in australia have a rich astronomical tradition such as the. Australian aborigines were some of the first people in the world to develop ideas with astronomy. Ray is the director of the aboriginal astronomy project. Ray norris is an astrophysicist at the csiro australia telescope national facility. Euahlayi lawman and knowledge holder, ghillar michael anderson, shares some of the ancient wisdoms of. Professor ray norris home western sydney university. Astrophysicistastronomer ray norris on australian aboriginal knowledge of eclipses, orion, pleiades, greek mythology. Born in england, he obtained an ma in theoretical physics at cambridge. Buy emu dreaming an introduction to australian aboriginal astronomy by ray norris 9780980657005 2014 from. Historical and ethnographic descriptions include the great comets of 1843. Ray norris professor ray norris if being an adjunct professor allows that honorific is a professional astronomer at the australia telescope national facility which is. Ray norris is a britishaustralian astronomer with csiro astronomy and space science who researches how galaxies formed after the big bang, and the astronomy of australian aboriginal people. Norris is well known for his work on aboriginal astronomy, and is an adjunct professor in the department of indigenous. Australian aboriginal astronomy in the international year of.
Deep fields projects australian aboriginal astronomy sydney rock engravings. It is possible that their interpretation of astronomy is the oldest still alive today. Ray explained that wurdi youang is the only aboriginal site known to indicate significant astronomical positions on the horizon other than the cardinal points, suggesting that other such sites may be discovered in the future. In southeast australia, there is evidence in the form of stone rows that may have been used in aboriginal astronomy. Australianaboriginalastronomyintheinternationalyearof. He also researches the astronomy of australian aboriginal people, for which he is an adjunct professor in indigenous studies at macquarie university. Ray norris is a british and australian astrophysicist whose dayjob is spent at the edge of the universe. Jan 14, 2014 ray norris is a british and australian astrophysicist whose dayjob is to use international telescopes to figure out how galaxies formed and evolved. Aboriginal astronomy the star of dreamtime stories. Australian aboriginal astronomy in the international year. Ray norris is a british and australian astrophysicist whose dayjob is to use international telescopes to figure out how galaxies formed and evolved. Astronomy is more than just stories it means a quest to understand the patterns in the sky and the motion and eclipses of the sun, moon and planets. Pdf eclipses in australian aboriginal astronomy ray. From 2005 onwards, there was a rapid growth of articles on aboriginal astronomy see figure 2, reflecting a rapid increase not only in interest in the subject but in rigorous scholarly research.
Emu dreaming an introduction to australian aboriginal. Professor norris has worked with several aboriginal groups in nsw and nt. The international year of astronomy seemed an excellent opportunity to tell the wider public about aboriginal astronomy, so that they might understand something of the depth and complexity of traditional aboriginal cultures. The rock engravings at ngaut ngaut, sa, which are said to represent lunar cycles. Ray norris is a britishaustralian astronomer in the school of science at. There are many tantalising examples like this throughout australia which suggest that astronomy is an important part of many australian aboriginal cultures. This week, i present the small booklet written by ray and cilla norris and a poster developed by their son barnaby. In his spare time he researches the astronomy of aboriginal australians, and is an adjunct professor at the macquarie university dept. He also researches the astronomy of australian aboriginal people. Like any other cultural activity, it is impossible to understand how astronomy fits into aboriginal cultures without first understanding the cultures themselves.
So our goal is to understand the importance of astronomy in aboriginal cultures, and ultimately perhaps answer the. The astronomy and navigation of aboriginal australians register now aboriginal people in australia have a rich astronomical tradition such as the emu in the sky constellation of dark clouds, and stories about the sun, moon, and stars, revealing a great depth and complexity of ancient aboriginal cultures. Star stories of the dreaming first nations astronomy trailer. I really connected more with my ancestry and linking it to astronomy today is really exciting.
As australia has the oldest continuous culture on earth, the first australians were very likely to have also been the first astronomers. Jun 04, 2011 this is the first novel from ray norris, a british and australian astrophysicist whose dayjob is to research the origin and evolution of galaxies shortly after the big bang. The astronomy and navigation of aboriginal australians anu. Professor ray norris from the csiro australia telescope national facility, together with his wife cilla, has written a book called emu dreaming an introduction to australian aboriginal astronomy. A highlight was a oneday symposium on aboriginal astronomy at the australian institute of aboriginal and torres strait islanders studies aiatsis on 2009 november 27. People this page features many of the key people in the world of indigenous astronomy, including elders who share their knowledge, researchers, aboriginal astrophysicists, communicators, and aboriginal students working in this space. An introduction to australian aboriginal astronomy. Bill yidumduma harney and ray norris at the first astronomers show at the darwin festival early life.
Duane hamacher editoremu dreaming was written by csiro professor ray norris and his wife, cilla. Csiro indigenous astronomer ray norris told the yolngu dreamtime story of the three brothers to abc radio sydney. Jonas vaiskunas plus over 200 publications in astrophysics. Aboriginal astronomy talk by ray norris let ray norris introduce you to aboriginal astronomy. He researches how galaxies formed and evolved after the big bang, and also researches the astronomy of aboriginal australians. He was educated at cambridge university and the university of manchester. Aboriginal astronomy the star of dreamtime stories abc news. Emu dreamingan introduction to aboriginal astronomythis book gives.
Professor ray norris is an astrophysicist with csiro astronomy and space science, and teaches in the school of computing, engineering at. Australian aboriginal astronomy is a name given to indigenous australian culture relating to astronomical subjects such as the sun and moon, the stars, planets, and the milky way, and their motions on the sky. Astronomy is deeply embedded in many of the 300odd aboriginal cultures across australia, all of which share some common roots such as a belief in the dreaming a time beyond time when creator spirits roamed the earth, could move easily between earth and sky, and could change shape between animal and human. Together, they spent five years studying aboriginal astronomy. The textbook was totally and utterly wrongray norris, astrophysicist astronomer at the australia telescope national facility. We and about a thousand others spent an interesting hour in the national library of australia nla theatre hearing ray norris talk about aboriginal astronomy and navigation. He also researches australian aboriginal astronomy, and the astronomy of british bronzeage stone circles. Australian aboriginal astronomy, by prof ray norris youtube. Ray norris an astrophysicist with csiro, and an adjunct professor at the dept. Ray norris is an astrophysicist and science communicator, based at the csiro australia telescope national facility, and is well known for his work on aboriginal astronomy. Pdf comets in australian aboriginal astronomy ray norris. A guide to aboriginal astronomy australian geographic.
The living traditions of aboriginal astronomy with professor ray. Norris, title australian aboriginal astronomy in the international year of astronomy, year share. See more ideas about astronomy, aboriginal education and aboriginal culture. We present 25 accounts of comets from 40 australian aboriginal communities, citing both supernatural perceptions of comets and historical accounts of bright comets.
Professor ray norris is an astrophysicist at csiro and western. Jan 20, 2014 as australia has the oldest continuous culture on earth, the first australians were very likely to have also been the first astronomers. Australian aboriginal astronomy and navigation article pdf available in publications of the astronomical society of australia 33 july 2016 with 1,542 reads how we measure reads. We explore 50 australian aboriginal accounts of lunar and solar eclipses to determine how aboriginal groups understood this phenomenon. The international year of astronomy in 2009 saw both an explosion of published literature on aboriginal astronomy e. Euahlayi lawman and knowledge holder, ghillar michael anderson, shares some of the ancient wisdoms of his peoples connection to the universe. Studying astronomical subjects such as the sun, moon, stars and planets and the way they appeared to move was used as a way to find and explain the relationship between people, nature and the sky. Aboriginal astronomy ockhams razor abc radio national.
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