Mayan Astronomy

The Maya were an ancient people who lived in Central America. They were some of the best sky watchers in history. Without telescopes, the Maya learned a lot about the sun, moon, and stars. They built special buildings to watch the sky. Their skills helped them make calendars and plan their lives.

Watching the Sky

The Maya studied the sky for hundreds of years. They could tell exactly when the sun would rise and set. They also followed the moon as it changed shape each month. They tracked the planet Venus very carefully. The Maya wrote their findings in books made of bark paper.

Sky Buildings

The Maya built special buildings to help them watch the stars. Some of their pyramids lined up perfectly with the sun on certain days. At a place called Chichen Itza, a shadow shaped like a snake appears on a pyramid twice a year. The Maya also had round buildings called observatories. These had small windows pointed at important stars.

Fun Facts

• The Maya calendar could predict eclipses hundreds of years into the future.
• They figured out the length of a year to within minutes of the real number.
• The Maya had a special number system using dots, bars, and a shell for zero.

Did You Know?

The Maya understood the concept of zero hundreds of years before it was used in Europe, which made their math and astronomy very advanced.