Lecture 5 - Aboriginal Astronomy

Question 1

What is dreamtime?

Answer 1

• Everything started with a dream
• Spirit of life (originator) got tired of dreaming after lad and sea

Question 2

What is the dreamtime story line?

Answer 2

• Barramundi drempt of waves
• Turtle drempt of pebbles and sun, wanted waves
• Lizard drempt clear sky and breeze, wanted pebbles and sun
• Eagle drempt of tall tress and night sky, wanted clear sky and breeze
• Possum drempt of yellow plants and grass, wanted tall trees and nigh sky
• Kangaroo drempt of music, song, grass, wanted yellow plants
• Humans drempt of various things, continued dreaming

Question 3

What are songlines?

Answer 3

• Maps of the land
• Serve us guides, perserving navigation, cultural knowledge of this lang

Question 4

What is the Sun in Aboriginal Culture?

Answer 4

• Woman
• Yolngu people of Arnhem land (North)
• Walu (Sun) lights small fire each morning, some spills on clouds
• Night she goes on a long journey

Question 5

Moon

Answer 5

• Feminine nature (fertility)
• Man
• Fat/lazy (waxing moon)
• Wife chops him (cresent moon)
  died, rebirth (new moon)
• High tides = water fills moon

Question 6

Solar Eclipse

Answer 6

• Men obscuring man during solar eclipse

Question 7

Variability

Answer 7

• Star changes its luminosity over a period of time

Question 8

Internal variability of stars

Answer 8

• Fuel end at centre
• expands initially
• not enough pressure, gravity suppress
• ocillation with size of star
• semi-regular

Question 9

Classification

Answer 9

• Tjikera (white)
• Tataka Jikera (Red/White)
• Tataka (Red)
• Tataka Indora (Very Red)

Question 10

Twinkiling

Answer 10

• Depends of atmospheric turbulance
• predicition of weather
• more blue = humidity

Question 11

Constellations

Answer 11

• Orion
• Tilted Orion
• Canoe in Orion
• Emu in the Sky

Question 12

Aboriginal Astronomy

Answer 12

• Ballarat, Victoria
• First astronomers
• Setting positions of sun (seasons)
• 65,000 years old