Maya observatory built specifically to track the planet Venus
Posted On: Jun 28th, 2016 at 09:32
Mexico
It’s not particularly ‘news’ when it’s declared that the Maya were interested and tracked the planet Venus, but this finding proves categorically that one of their observatories was specifically designed to track the 584-day path of the planet. In modern terms it’s a bit like sending a probe to Mars that has a specific purpose, for example to find levels of a certain element that may be present on the surface. I say that because building an observatory specifically to track the planet Venus is a very exact form of scientific undertaking and architecturally not as easy as one may think – you don’t just build a platform and then stand on it to have a look at the sky.
The observatory, discovered at Acanceh in the Yucatán Peninsula, was first built around 300 AD and was used during the early Classic Period (300 – 600). Doors in the observatory align with the equinoxes and a domed structure is built so accurately that no shadow is seen during the midday sun. The southern edge of the observatory pinpoints Venus’ northernmost point in the sky.
Now, you try building a “semi-circular structure” so that no shadow is seen during the midday sun and see how difficult that is!
The Maya were undoubtedly the most advanced astronomers in the world for around a thousand years.
