Popularisierung der Astronomie Unsere Tagung findet dieses Mal ausnahmsweise nach dem Annual Meeting der Astronomischen Gesellschaft (12. bis 16. September 2016) statt, deren Thema lautet The Many Facets of Astrophysics – Photons, Particles, and Spacetime (https://www.ag2016.de/). Die Tagung des Arbeitskreises Astronomiegeschichte in Bochum steht 2016 unter dem Thema Popularisierung der Astronomie. Es gibt im Ruhrgebiet zahlreiche Planetarien, Volkssternwarten und astronomische Vereine, die berücksichtigt werden können. Aber das Thema soll nicht nur die moderne Zeit sowie auch „oral history“ umfassen, sondern auch die Popularisierung in der Geschichte, also Beispiele der früheren Jahrhunderte und natürlich auch nicht regional – also nicht aufs Ruhrgebiet – begrenzt. Ein Thema könnte z.B. die Astronomische Uhr in Münster sein. Insbesondere sollen auch Beispiele aus der Archäoastronomie einbezogen werden. Außerdem sind bei der Tagung auch freie Vorträge möglich; es wäre natürlich gut, wenn viele sich mit dem umfangreichen Thema Popularisierung der Astronomie beschäftigen würden. Von der Tagung soll ein Proceedings-Band erscheinen, vgl. hier: http://www.hs.uni-hamburg.de/DE/GNT/research/nuncius.php Nuncius Hamburgensis; Band 41 (2017); hier sollen alle Vorträge aufgenommen werden, die im weitesten Sinne zum Thema passen.

We found on the sky disc of Nebra the Babylonian Pleiades intercalary rule encoded in a double manner. It gives a practical instruction, when one month must be switched on in a luni-solar calendar. In this iconographic program the golden disc symbolizes the sun as well as the full moon. This double interpretation arises from the meaning of the Babylonian Akitu New Year feast at full moon in the spring month necessarily: The full moon in the spring month symbolizes the new-year at the beginning of spring. Therefore, one finds in Near East often the symbol of a circle (beside figurative representations) for the sun AND moon, not seldom with the Pleiades. At the reign of Hammurabi – possibly also the production time of the sky disc – in 1800 B.C. the last visibility of the Pleiades in the evening sky occurred in such a way that when they disappeared and at the same time the First Crescent Moon appeared (the „ideal situation“) the following full moon decorated the sky at the beginning of spring: The full moon as a symbol of the sun! Thus three elements (First Crecent Moon, Pleiades and full moon / sun) symbolize the spring feast (today Easter). Nowadays no Pleiades appear in the Easter rule. The „Plejadenschock“ led to the fact that the Pleiades disappeared from that rule. In 600 B.C. the sky constellations had moved on account of the precession so far that the intercalary rule was not valid any more in the spring month. Exemplarily at the example of Persepolis we indicate the reaction to the „Plejadenschock“. We look in addition at orientations and at symbols of Persepolis. We discuss the effects of the „Plejadenschock“ in the Persian’s empire, thus with the Jews, Syrians and Arabs.

The origin of our deliberations was the question why in the Arabian cultural spherea pure lunar calendar became popular with the introduction of Islam. We found aspecial date as a point of fixation. The first of Muharram in the year 10 of the hedgraor the ninth of April 631 A.D. This date is connected with the introduction of thenew and purely lunar Islamic calendar. As it turns out, this date is highly significantastronomically and allows seeing a connection with an old Mesopotamian leap yearrule.Parting from this observation we analyzed the Old Testament with regard towhether we can find similar indications there too. For that purpose we first hadto identify specific dates given in the Old Testament. As it turned out such datesare partially exact to the day. Thereupon we investigated if these data exist within acontext which can be interpreted in an astronomical or calendarical manner. In thisprocedure emerged parallels to our findings regarding the Arabian cultural sphere.Also a certain key occurrence within Babylonian history could be integrated intothis interpretational pattern. The general connection between astronomical observa-tion and religious change could also be present in an example of different nature inEgyptian history.

Abstract In this work, we turn to the eras of the 7th century. The two Persian Yazdegird-eras to his accession (632) and after his death (652) are not well known, but they were very important in their time and are partly still used today. The Arab era (622) is now known as Islamic era of Higra. It is related to the lunar calendar. However the lunar calendar was introduced according to the tradition only 632 by Mohammed. The exclusion of the pagans from the Hagg was already proclaimed by Ali at the Hagg 631 in Mecca on behalf of the Prophet. About the location of the first day of the year 10 (1st Muharram 10 AH) = 9.4.631, the narrators are unanimous. As intercalation has been omitted at the end of 9 AH, the lunar calendar in fact started this day. This date is characterized in three ways: 1.) There is an ideal situation. So we call the conjunction of first crescent with the last visibility of the Pleiades. 2.) The moon reaches its greatest northern (ecliptic) latitude and can thus repeatedly eclipse the Pleiades this year. 3.) A pure lunar calendar and lunisolar calendar, both starting with the Seleucid era, come again this year together in the same season. We show how you can use these observations argumentative, to switch from the lunar solar calendar to lunar calendar. This change is most likely linked to a new religion. We conclude that the lunar calendar was actually introduced 631/632. Only after the introduction of the lunar calendar, the 622 era is introduced (638). We point to a scenario how (war between Persia and Byzantium and attempt to unify the different Christian movements by the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius) this sequence could be explained in time circumstances. Double dating on a papyrus dating back to 642 and an inscription in the bathroom nearby Gadara in 662 show that in both cases in the Arab era a lunar calendar is based. If one understands the 622 era, as do some researchers, as an originally Arab-political era, this nevertheless must have been associated with the religious movement (lunar calendar 631) very early. These results support some statements of the tradition literature.

Based upon principle considerations, the following article attempts to trace the development of Bronze Age astronomy in Central and Northern Europe. Starting with the time of the Nebra sky disk, the moon seems to have played a greater role in the creation of a calendar. A leapyear rule that observes the moon’s crescent near the Pleiades in a spring month leads to a luni-solar calendar, which is regulated through observation. In addition, the common expectationof the necessary intercalated months can be coordinated with those made and thereby formthe basis for a better prediction and, thus, a better calendar. In consequence, the developmentseems to have run independently and in part differently, even more successfully, than that inMesopotamia. In the attempt to work out an eclipse cycle with the help of common expectation,a new theory about the celestial cycles appears on the sun chariot of Trundholm, which finallyleads to the recognition of the Saros cycle. This cycle appears also on the gold hats. With theirhelp and those of eclipses of the moon the calendar can further be improved. This could haveled to the very detailed calendar of Coligny, which with its thirty-year periodicity is reminiscentof the thirty-two-year cycle of the Nebra sky disk.

This article shows the pleiades’ importance for the calendar, for determining feasts, for mythology and religion. We take a close look on texts, poems, symbols and numbers. The Pleiades' leap year rule is of great importance. What we call the “Ideal Situation” is the one when the first cresent of the moon corresponds with the last visibility of the Pleiades in the evening sky. During the time of Hammurabi the following full moon corresponded with the spring equinox. We present a chronology of Hammurabi with the “Ideal Situation” as basis. The movement of the “Ideal Situation” out of the spring month caused the so called “Plejadenschock”. As a consequence of the “Plejadenschock” the monotheistic religions emerged.

Recent excavations (until 2009) may shed a new light on the beginnings of astronomy. The research done by Ziegert and colleagues discovered and partly investigated a village of Old Acheulian time at the Shore of the first Mega-lake Fezzan (ca. 400,000 years ago). The permanent settlement of Homo erectus people is proved in different activity zones from the shallow water of the shore to south: a village working place with many hand-axes probably as women’s multitools, a cooking place and the housing area and a burial ground. South of the village test excavations were carried out to investigate a ritual-place with stone structures on former surfaces. It consists of a rectangular stone in east west orientation, a dugout round pit and a layering of large stone plates. Nearby on top of the escarpment Ziegert found a straight row of stone-heaps that, if 13 heaps, may be of astronomical significance (due to the political circumstances in Libya, further research was not possible). Thinking of the deviation range in absolute dating sites of this age an interval of ±20.000 years was chosen. The astronomical question is what one can state about this time with this given insecurity. There are discussed different phenomena (proper motion of the stars, changes of the earth’s axis and the fluctuating of the earth orbit). The outcome of this is that one can give no star constellations and rising and setting points of the sun and moon are not exactly known. Only the equinoxes are dependable in there east west adjustment. It is shown how the finding complex could be interpreted astronomically and to what details should be paid attention with further excavations from an astronomical point of view.

There is intenral evidence for post-mortem expectations in the Roman cult of Mithras. Despite Robert Turcan's Demonstration in 1975 of the biases of the Neo-platonist reports of Mithraic belief, it continues routinely to be supposed that, as a 'mystery-cult', the cult of Mithras must have had expectations about the after-life. This paper suggests an alternative model, and offers three 'thought-experiments' as to possible evocatory 'nodes' that individual Mithraic Fathers might have started thier own speculations.

Anläßlich des 100jährigen Jubiläums der Hamburger Sternwarte in Bergedorf 2012 fand die Tagung des Arbeitskreises Astronomiegeschichte in der Astronomischen Gesellschaft (AKAG) „Kometen, Sterne, Galaxien – Astronomie in der Hamburger Sternwarte“ vom 23. bis 24. September 2012 statt, organisiert von Gudrun Wolfschmidt, ferner gab es eine Vortragsreihe Meilensteine aus 100 Jahren Forschung an der Hamburger Sternwarte in Bergedorf, organisiert von Gudrun Wolfschmidt und Matthias Hünsch, schließlich tagte die Antique Telescope Society (ATS) vom 28. bis 29. September 2012 in der Sternwarte, organisiert von Gudrun Wolfschmidt und Walter Stephani. Alle diese Beiträge zum Jubiläum sollten in einem Buch zusammengefaßt werden, die Resonanz war so groß, daß zwei Bände entstanden. Dieser Band Sonne, Mond und Sterne – Meilensteine der Astronomiegeschichte enthält nun die Beiträge über 400 Jahre Astronomie in Hamburg, über Sternwarten, Astronomen und Instrumente, ferner Artikel zur Astronomie in Altona (STRUVE-Bogen) und Kiel (Radioastronomie), ferner weitere allgemeine astronomiehistorische Artikel von der Bronzezeit bis ins 20. Jahrhundert, da das Zentrum für Geschichte der Naturwissenschaft und Technik auch zur Hamburger Sternwarte gehört."