Astronomical Phenomena

• Rising and setting of the sun

  Babylonian and Egyptian: the sun rises in the eastern part of the sky, and sets in the western part of the sky
• Gnomon

  a primitive version of a sundial to observe the motion of the sun, they look at the shadows
• Phases of the moon

  Moon changes its path and its appearance within a period of 29.5 days. These phases are the basis of ancient calendars.
• Lunar eclipse

  occurs when the earth casts its shadows on the moon when the earth is between the sun and the moon.
• solar eclipse

  occurs when moon is in between the sun and earth completely blocks out the sun.
• The motion of the stars

  stars appear to be attached to a celestial sphere that rotates around an axis in one day.
• Visibility of planets

  mercury, venus, mars, jupiter, and saturn are easily seen in the sky.