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KOMPAS.com – A galaxy is simply defined as a system of stars and interstellar matter that make up the universe.
Almost all galaxies were born shortly after the creation of the universe, and these galaxies were scattered throughout space.
Galaxies are made up of dust, gas, dark matter, and millions to trillions of stars held together by gravity.
One of the many galaxies in the universe is the Milky Way galaxy, where the solar system and the earth where people live.
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Galaxy Milkyway
Named from the Britannica page, the Milky Way galaxy is a large spiral system containing several hundred billion stars, including the Sun.
It is also known as the Milky Way, a name taken from the irregular collection of stars and clouds of glowing gas that stretch across the sky when seen from Earth.
The disk of the Milky Way galaxy is about 100,000 light-years in diameter and only 1,000 light-years thick.
Just as the Earth orbits the sun, the solar system is also known to orbit the center of the Milky Way.
Despite hurtling through space at a speed of about 828,000 kilometers per hour, the solar system takes about 250 million years to complete one revolution.
The views of the ancient Egyptians about the Milky Way
The ancient Egyptians were known to pay close attention to the night sky. They applied their astronomical ideas to religion, mythology, and the calculation of time.
Scholars have identified the moon, planets, and specific stars as well as constellations in Egyptian tomb texts and murals.
Astronomer Or Graur from the University of Portsmouth and his colleagues suggest that the ancient Egyptians may have understood the sky goddess Nut as a means of the Milky Way.
Quoting from the Archeology page, Nut, the goddess of the sky, stars and universe, is often depicted with stars all over her body and bowing over her brother and her husband, Geb , god of the Earth.
Read also: Get to know Galaxies, Star Systems that make up the Universe
The researchers analyzed ancient Egyptian texts, including the Book of Nuts, which focused on the movements of the moon, sun, planets and star cycles.
They also looked at models of the Milky Way from different places in Egypt between 3,000 and 4,000 years ago, and how its appearance changed during the night.
Graur concluded that the direction of the Milky Way in a simulated model of the ancient Egyptian night sky corresponded to the description of Nut’s body in the Book of Nut.
The research aims to show how the combination of different scientific disciplines gives a new perspective on old beliefs.
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This also highlights how astrology connects humanity across culture, geography and time.
A nut also plays a large part in the daily cycle of the sun, being eaten as it sets in the west. Then, at dawn, Nut again brought the sun rising in the east, according to American Science.
The depiction of Nut as a curvaceous woman, sometimes covered in stars, reminds us of the Milky Way curving across the sky.
The gymnastics of the Milky Way was especially important after Or Graur discovered how the Nut was described in the ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts, the Coffin Texts, and the Book of the Nut.
In the Book of Nuts he found the strongest link between Nut and the Milky Way. In it, the head and back of Nut are equal to the western and eastern horizons.
However, his arms are shown lying at an angle to his body, with his right arm in the northwest and his left arm in the southeast.
This particular orientation is exactly how the Milky Way galaxy appears in the winter sky.
However, this research can definitely show that the Milky Way is a proof of Nut.
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But according to Or Graur the two links are connected, with the Milky Way illuminating Nut’s arms in winter and her back in summer.
These conditions allowed the ancient Egyptians to see it appear as the sky.
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2024-04-16 14:00:00
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