Image Credit & Copyright: Stéphane Guisard (Los Cielos de America, TWAN)
Credits: D. Flores and B. Pichardo (Inst. Astronomia UNAM), P. Sánchez and R. Nafate (INAH)
Explanation: Welcome to the December solstice, a day the world does not
end ... even according to the Mayan Calendar. To celebrate, consider this
dramatic picture of Orion rising over
El Castillo, the central pyramid at Chichén Itzá, one of the great Mayan
centers on the Yucatán peninsula. Also known as the Temple of Kukulkan it stands
30 meters tall and 55 meters wide at the base. Built up as a series of square
terraces by the pre-Columbian civilization between the 9th and 12th century, the
structure can be used as a calendar and is noted for astronomical
alignments. In fact, the Mayans were accomplished astronomers and
mathematicians, accurately using the cyclic motions of the stars, Sun, Moon, and
planets to measure time and construct
calendars. Peering through clouds in this night skyscape, stars in the
modern constellation Orion the Hunter represented a turtle in the Mayan sky. Tak sáamal.
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