Indigenous Astronomy

The First Nations cultures of Australia – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders – speak over 250 distinct languages and stretch back for over 65,000 years. This makes the First Australians the oldest astronomers and the oldest continuing cultures in the world.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people developed a number of practical ways to observe the Sun, Moon and stars to inform navigation, calendars, and predict weather. Australia’s First Nations people assign meaning and agency to astronomical phenomena, which informs Law and social structure.

It also serves as the foundation for narratives that are passed down the generations through song, dance, and oral tradition over tens of thousands of years. 

About Kirsten Banks

Kirsten Banks is a proud Wiradjuri woman with an undeniable passion for all things space and astronomy. She grew up on Ku-ring-gai country in Sydney’s Northern Beaches always loving the sky.

After graduating from Davidson High School in 2014 with the title of “Most Outstanding Student”, she started a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of New South Wales with a major in Physics. Within her first year of tertiary study, Kirsten completed a successful application and was appointed an Astronomy Guide position at Sydney Observatory. It was at Sydney Observatory where Kirsten first sought out to determine where she and her ancestors came from: she learned she is of Wiradjuri descendent.

Kirsten loves to share her passion for space and astronomy. Her role in the media started in February 2017 with the publication of a feature article about her in COSMOS Magazine’s Space Profile sections. Since then, Kirsten has experienced a whirlwind of opportunities in many different media realms.

She’s appeared on countless radio shows and is the resident astronomer on Triple M’s Night Shift with Luke Bona. Kirsten’s ultimate goal in life is to become a famous Science Communicator, so she takes advantage of media engagement opportunities as they happen, but Kirsten’s favourite place to be is in front of people giving public talks -Kirsten speaks regularly at Sydney Observatory, has presented at numerous conferences and loves to present Aboriginal Astronomy workshops during and outside of NAIDOC Week and National Science Week.

Kirsten has also branched out to the written word with science writtings. She was twice published in the Guardian Australia’s Opinions section before the age of 21. She is also now a published academic with a co-authored paper published in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Planetary Science. Kirsten is also a 2017 CSIRO Indigenous STEM Award finalist.

If you’d like to follow and support Kirsten’s journey to becoming a great Science Communicator, you can like her Facebook page and follow her on Twitter with the handle @AstroKirsten

65,000 yrs – the great history of Australian Aboriginal Astronomy – Tedx Youth (Sydney)

Emus can’t fly, but there’s an Emu in the sky. People have been looking up to the stars for a long time, but for how long? 

Explore a different perspective of the night sky and learn about the great history of Australian Aboriginal Astronomy. Kirsten Banks is a proud Wiradjuri Woman and Astrophysicist with an undeniable passion for space and astronomy. 

Our Indigenous astronomical traditions 

Astrophysicist and proud Wiradjuri woman, Kirsten Banks, shares an Indigenous Australian perspective on the sky’s constellations.

Have you ever taken the time to look up toward the stars and try to find some constellations? You’ve probably managed to find one of the most iconic constellations of the Southern Hemisphere, the Southern Cross. Or you’ve possibly been able to find a star sign or two if you have a good eye! But did you know that there is much more to the night sky than the mainstream constellations seen on modern sky maps? Especially from the perspective of Indigenous Australians. 

Indigenous Australian culture has a rich astronomical history stretching for more than 65,000 years. We have been observing the stars, and using our astronomical traditions to better understand the land and waters around us for generations. This knowledge is still present today. While we see the same stars and planets in the night sky, our perspective of these celestial objects can be quite unique. 

Let’s think about constellations. In Western astronomy constellations are collections of stars in the night sky that are connected together to create a pattern that represents some sort of person, animal, or object. In Indigenous astronomical traditions we also have constellations that are a collection of stars. Take Orion for example. The Orion constellation is a handful of stars that displays an image of a great hunter in Greek mythology. In my Wiradjuri culture, these same stars represent the ancestral creator, Baiami. 

Other constellations in Indigenous astronomical traditions can simply be one star. In many cases a single star, and sometimes even a single planet, represents an ancestral figure or animal. An example in Boorong traditions, from the Wergaia language group in North Western Victoria, is a star called Marpeankurrk. In Western astronomy this is Arcturus. Marpeankurrk is an ancestral figure who indicates when the bittur (wood ant pupa) are coming into season. Not only are collections of stars significant in Indigenous astronomical traditions, individual stars serve a large role too. 

The last type of constellation is very different to what you are likely used to seeing in the night sky, especially if you live near a bright city or town. These kinds of constellations are my favourite, they are the dark constellations. No longer are we going to use stars to manifest great images of animals and ancestral beings. Instead, we use the negative spaces of the Milky Way galaxy. These dark spaces may appear to be a lack of stars, but it is quite the opposite! The dark patches you see in the Milky Way galaxy is an abundance of dust and gas that naturally blocks the light from distant stars. Within this darkness is my favourite constellation, the dark emu. We call this Gugurmin in Wiradjuri. Much like Marpeankurrk, its position in the night sky indicates the best time to go looking for food. In this case, it is emu eggs. 

The astronomical knowledge of Indigenous Australians runs deep. Take some time this Reconciliation Week and learn about our astronomical traditions and look up to the skies while you’re at home practising physical distancing. 

By Kirsten Banks, courtesy of Australian Space Agency