Astronomy in the Inca world

As I am typing this on the computer, the lights in the hotel are turned off. I reflect on the day that we have all had and am amazed at the cosmological and astronomical minds of the Inca. At Saqsayhuaman, we were able to see how the Inca viewed the stars and the galaxies using many water mirrors shaped in circles that would be aimed towards a certain star. It was a special experience for me to go to the planetarium because I am in an Astronomy class this semester back at Rollins and in the beginning of the class we talked about ancient archeoastronomy. It is interesting to note that the Incas thought that the eclipses and comets were signs from gods. Astronomy was very important to the Inca way of life for agriculture and to make a calendar. The Incas believed in two kinds of formations. The stellar or star formations and the dark clouds. The dark clouds constellations are animate forms while the stellar constellation represent inanimate architectural and geometric forms. The dark cloud constellations predicted the beginning of the raining season which is used to grow crops like maiz or corn. Scorpio is another important predictor of rain when it stands in the zenith in November. There are many important animals in the Inca world according to astronomy including the celestial serpent, the toad, the tinamou, llama, baby llama and the fox. The animals told if it was going to be dry or rainy and the beginning of planting season. The planetarium was the first I have ever been to and I enjoyed seeing the different telescopes and looking at the different constellations and stars. It is amazing to learn about the history of astronomy and the different models of the world. The geocentric which was an earth centered solar system and a heliocentric model which centers around a sun centered universe.

It was great to see telescopes up close because the closest I have been to one is on the screen. I wish I knew more about the telescopes we saw whether they were refractor like Galileo's or reflector like Newton. Tycho Barhe was the first to really see the stars with the naked eye. My favorite part of the day was going to Sexy Woman and the planetarium. I am not looking forward to being on the bus all day tomorrow but I can't wait until Machu Picchu.

-Kelly