What is astronomy?Astronomy is the study of the celestial objects including, the sun, the stars, moon, planets etc. It is very important to understand the celestial bodies since they dictate a lot of what occurs on earth. Earth rotates around the sun like a dog chases its tail but not as fast. Earth spins around an imaginary line called the axis. This rotation causes different parts of space to be exposed andaligned at different phases.

Ancient Maya Astronomy:The ancient Maya were keen astronomers, recording and interpreting every aspect of the sky. As they believed that the will and actions of the Gods could be read in the stars, moon and planets. They dedicated much time to doing so and many of their most important buildings were constructed with astronomy in mind. The Sun, Moon and planets (Venus in particular) were studied by the Maya. The Maya also based their calendars around astronomy. They also focused on the solstices and equinoxes. The solstice is either of the two times in the year, the summer solstice and the winter solstice, when the sun reaches its highest or lowest point in the sky at noon, marked by the longest and shortest days. The equinox the time or date (twice each year) at which the sun crosses the celestial equator, when day and night are of equal length.

Maya observational toolsAs a result of the social structure being developed the Maya began to be mindful about their surrounding and began to wonder about the celestial bodies. Of course, the first tool they developed was to simply observe closely the movements within the skies.

From observing they began to record and that is how they manage to use mathematical systems to calculate and predict events in the skies. Visual and record keeping was basic in creating the calendars.

Cracks were left within buildings to observe the movement of the son creating solar daggers. The light would go through the cracks and create sort of like a dagger within a spiral diagram placed on a wall.

The Maya created some tools that resemble the present day Gnomon/gnomen, which would be used a stick place straight up and the shadow would represent the movement of the sun.

The Maya and the Sky:The Maya believed that the Earth was the center of all things, fixed and immovable. The stars, moons, sun and planets were gods: their movements were seen as them going between the Earth, the Underworld and other celestial destinations. These Gods were greatly involved in human affairs, and so their movements were watched closely. Many events in Maya life were planned to coincide with certain celestial moments: for example, a war might be delayed until the Gods were in place, or a ruler might ascend to the throne of a Maya city-state only when a certain planet was visible in the night sky.

The Maya and the Sun:The Sun was very important to the ancient Maya. The Maya Sun God was Kinich Ahau. He was one of the more powerful Gods of the Maya pantheon, considered an aspect of Itzamna, one of the Maya creator Gods. Kinich Ahau would shine in the sky all day before transforming himself into a jaguar at night to pass through Xibalba, the Maya underworld. In the Popol Vuh, the hero twins, Hunaphu and Xbalanque, transformed themselves at one point into the Sun and the Moon. Some of the Maya dynasties claimed to be descended from the Sun. The Maya were expert at predicting solar phenomena, such as eclipses, equinoxes and when the Sun reached its apex.

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The Maya and the Moon:The Moon was nearly as important as the Sun for the ancient Maya. Maya astronomers analyzed and predicted the Moon’s movements with greataccuracy. As with the sun and planets, Maya dynasties often claimed to be descended from the Moon. Maya mythology generally associated the moon with a maiden, an old woman and/or a rabbit. The Maya Moon Goddess was Ix Chel, a powerful Goddess who battled with the Sun and made him descend into the underworld every night. Although she was a fearsome Goddess, she was the patroness of childbirth and fertility. Ix Ch’up was another Moon Goddess described in some of the codices: she was young and beautiful and may have been Ix Chel in her youth.

The Maya and Venus:The Maya were aware of the planets in the solar system and marked their movements. By far, the most important planet to the Maya was Venus, which they associated with war. Battles and wars would be arranged to coincide with the movements of Venus and captured warriors and leaders would likewise be sacrificed according to the position of Venus in the night sky. The Maya painstakingly recorded the movements of Venus and determined that its year (relative to earth, not the sun) was 584 days long, amazingly close to the 583.92 days that modern science has determined.

The Maya and the Stars:Like the planets, the stars move across the heavens: unlike the planets, they stay in position relative to one another. To the Maya, the stars were less important to their mythos than the sun, moon, Venus and other planets. However, the stars shift seasonally and were used by Maya astronomers to predict when the seasons would come and go, useful for agricultural planning. For example, the rise of the Pleiades in the night sky occurs at about the same time that the rains come to the Maya regions of Central America and southern Mexico. The stars, therefore, were of more practical use than many other aspects of Maya astronomy.

Maya Architecture and Astronomy:Many important Maya buildings, such as temples, pyramids, palaces, observatories and ball courts were laid out in accordance with astronomy. Temples and pyramids, in particular, were designed in such a way that the Sun, Moon, stars and planets would be visible from the top or through certain windows at important times of the year. Two examples are: (1) Temple of Kukulkan, and (2) El Caracol, Observatory at Chichen Itza.

Maya Astronomy and the Calendar:The Maya calendar was linked to astronomy. The Maya basically used two calendars: the Calendar Round and the Long Count. The Maya Long Count calendar was divided into different units of time that used the Haab, or solar year (365 days) as a base. The Calendar Round consisted of two separate calendars: the first was the 365-day solar year, the second was the 260 day Tzolkin cycle. These cycles align every 52 years.

The HaabThe Maya solar calendar, called Haab, is a count of 365 days and thus approximates the solar year. The word “haab” means “year” in the Yucatec Mayan language. The Haab is composed of 18 months made of 20 days each, plus one month made of 5 days. A month made of 20 days is called a uinal. Each uinal has its own name. These 18 months together equal 360 days. The last month made of 5 days is called Wayeb. The 19 months together total 365 days. 18 x 20 + 5 = 365

The TzolkinThe sacred/ ritual Maya calendar is called Tzolk’in in Yucatec Mayan and Chol Q’ij in K’iche’.