Cultural Astronomy for Inspiration

Cultural astronomy is the study of the astronomy of ancient cultures and is sometimes called the anthropology of astronomy. The many ways that astronomy was used by ancient cultures are fascinating and this can be used to inspire interest in all astronomy, as well as astronomy in culture. Archaeoastronomy is interdisciplinary and among its practitioners are not only astronomers and astrophysicists, but also anthropologists, archaeologists, and Indigenous scholars. Much can be learned about ancient cultures though examination of how and why they used astronomy. This paper will highlight several examples that can capture public attention.Ye

The Babylonian astronomical diaries : a contextual survey and graphical analysis of their implied reference system

Abstract Babylonian scribes nightly observed and recorded celestial events for over six centuries during the first millennium BC. A number of cuneiform tablets containing these astronomical diaries have been recovered and later were translated by Abraham Sachs and Hermann Hunger.The majority of diary entries track the position of the moon with reference to 31 "normal stars," all within 10 degrees of the ecliptic. Entries specify the moon as being "above," "below," "in front of," or "behind" a second body by a specified distance in cubits. The scribes fail to define either the reference system used for these topographical relations or the dimensions of a cubit. Any instruments that may have been utilized in these observations have not survived.Gerd Graffhoff posits that "topographical relations in the Babylonian Diaries are accurately measured ecliptic coordinates," and that a cubit represents 2.5 angular degrees. His findings have been questioned and I examine the se is sues through a new approach. In my research I perform a contextual study of factors leading to the diary observations. Additionally I conduct a graphical computer analysis that depicts actual positions of the bodies in question on specified dates.Computer-generated star-charts and coordinates for the selected entries clearly show a direct interdependence between the topographical relations and the celestial course of the sun, moon, and planets. Virtually every relation that I examined corresponds generally with celestial longitude and latitude. While my study produced certain cubit values not far from Graffhoff's, I found an inconsistency in these dimensions that casts great doubt as to the existence of a uniform system of measure. The computer-generated star-charts distinctly reflect correlation to the general path of ecliptic travel, but it is doubtful that the topographical relations of the Astronomical Diaries refer to any specific coordinate reference system

A Cultural Comparison of the ''Dark Constellations'' in the Milky Way

Cultures around the world find meaning in the groupings of stars and features in the Milky Way. The striking appearance of our Galaxy in the night sky serves as a reference to traditional knowledge, encoding science and culture to a memory space, becoming part of their overarching cosmologies. This paper examines traditional views of the Milky Way from cultures around the world, primarily in the Southern Hemisphere. These views comprise dark constellations: familiar shapes made up of the dark dust lanes in the Milky Way, rather than the bright stars. Some of the better-known examples include the celestial emu from Aboriginal traditions of Australia, and the llama in Inca traditions of the Andes. We conduct a comparative analysis of cultural perceptions of ‘dark constellations’ in the Milky Way, examining common cultural themes and meanings at the crossroads of Indigenous Knowledge and Western science with applications to topics ranging from Indigenous Studies to psychology.Fil: Gullberg, Steven R.. Oklahoma State University; Estados UnidosFil: Hamacher, Duane. University of Melbourne; AustraliaFil: Lopez, Alejandro Martin. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Ciencias Antropológicas. Sección de Etnología y Etnografía; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Mejuto, Javier. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras; HondurasFil: Munro, Andrew M.. University of Oklahoma; Estados UnidosFil: Orchiston, Wayne. University of Southern Queensland; Australia. National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand; Tailandi

Cosmic Vine: A z=3.44 Large-Scale Structure Hosting Massive Quiescent Galaxies

We report the discovery of a large-scale structure at z=3.44 revealed by JWST data in the EGS field. This structure, dubbed "Cosmic Vine", consists of 20 galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts at $3.43<z<3.45$ and six galaxy overdensities with consistent photometric redshifts, making up a vine-like structure extending over a ~4x0.2 pMpc^2 area. The two most massive galaxies (M*~10^10.9 Msun) of the Cosmic Vine are found to be quiescent with bulge-dominated morphologies ($B/T>70\%$). Comparisons with simulations suggest that the Cosmic Vine would form a cluster with halo mass >10^14 Msun at z=0, and the two massive galaxies are likely forming the brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs). The results unambiguously reveal that massive quiescent galaxies can form in growing large-scale structures at z>3, thus disfavoring the environmental quenching mechanisms that require a virialized cluster core. Instead, as suggested by the interacting and bulge-dominated morphologies, the two galaxies are likely quenched by merger-triggered starburst or AGN feedback before falling into a cluster core. Moreover, we found that the observed specific star formation rates of massive quiescent galaxies in z>3 dense environments are two orders of magnitude lower than that of the BCGs in the TNG300 simulation. This discrepancy potentially poses a challenge to the models of massive cluster galaxy formation. Future studies comparing a large sample with dedicated cluster simulations are required to solve the problem.Comment: Submitted to A&

Regulation of Cancer Aggressive Features in Melanoma Cells by MicroRNAs

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs with regulatory roles, which are involved in a broad spectrum of physiological and pathological processes, including cancer. A common strategy for identification of miRNAs involved in cell transformation is to compare malignant cells to normal cells. Here we focus on identification of miRNAs that regulate the aggressive phenotype of melanoma cells. To avoid differences due to genetic background, a comparative high-throughput miRNA profiling was performed on two isogenic human melanoma cell lines that display major differences in their net proliferation, invasion and tube formation activities. This screening revealed two major cohorts of differentially expressed miRNAs. We speculated that miRNAs up-regulated in the more-aggressive cell line contribute oncogenic features, while the down-regulated miRNAs are tumor suppressive. This assumption was further tested experimentally on five candidate tumor suppressive miRNAs (miR-31, -34a, -184, -185 and -204) and on one candidate oncogenic miRNA (miR-17-5p), all of which have never been reported before in cutaneous melanoma. Remarkably, all candidate Suppressive-miRNAs inhibited net proliferation, invasion or tube formation, while miR-17-5p enhanced cell proliferation. miR-34a and miR-185 were further shown to inhibit the growth of melanoma xenografts when implanted in SCID-NOD mice. Finally, all six candidate miRNAs were detected in 15 different metastatic melanoma specimens, attesting for the physiological relevance of our findings. Collectively, these findings may prove instrumental for understanding mechanisms of disease and for development of novel therapeutic and staging technologies for melanoma

Cosmovisiones/Cosmovisões, 1(1) Abstracts

As part of our collaboration with Cosmovisiones/Cosmovisões we will publish the English translations of the abstracts from that journal. This is to give better awareness of the Cultural Astronomy research that is being published there in Spanish and Portuguese. There have been three issues so far and we will publish the abstracts of each one separately, this being the first. Cosmovisiones/Cosmovisões will also publish the abstracts of the Journal of Astronomy in Culture in Spanish translations. Additionally, it is intended for each of the two journals to occasionally select and republish a translated article from the other. This will enhance the cognizance of the related research and its authors. We, at JAC, are excited to bring you these offerings and look forward to great collaborations in the future!Steven Gullberg, Managing Edito

Astronomy of the Inca Empire: use and significance of the Sun and the night sky

Astronomy in the Inca Empire was a robust and fundamental practice. The subsequent Spanish conquest of the Andes region disrupted much of this indigenous culture and resulted in a significant loss of information about its rich history. Through modern archaeoastronomy, this book helps recover and interpret some of these elements of Inca civilization. Astronomy was intricately woven into the very fabric of Andean existence and daily life. Accordingly, the text takes a holistic approach to its research, considering first and foremost the cultural context of each astronomy-related site. The chapters necessarily start with a history of the Incas from the beginning of their empire through the completion of the conquest by Spain before diving into an astronomical and cultural analysis of many of the huacas found in the heart of the Inca Empire. Over 300 color images—original artwork and many photos captured during the author’s extensive field research in Machu Picchu, the Sacred Valley, Cusco, and elsewhere—are included throughout the book, adding visual insight to a rigorous examination of Inca astronomical sites and history