Episode 9: Ancient Egyptian Astronomy, with Sarah Symons

Our guest today is Professor Sarah Symons who joins Justin Trottier at The Star Spot to enlighten us about ancient Egyptian sophisticated conceptions of the night sky. The conversation ranges from understanding the intimate interplay between the supernatural and the scientific, to the practical uses of the stars for such purposes as predicting the flood of the Nile, and to the role of special classes of stars in ancient Egyptian myth and ritual.  Dr. Symons shares her enthusiasm in detailing how the night sky was at the centre of Egyptian religion. Pharoahs sought to transform themself into celestial beings, while the very body of one goddess formed the foundation of the Egyptian conception of celestial regularities. To close their conversation, the two reflect on why ancient Egypt continues to catalyze so much wild and crazy pseudoscentific and pseudoastronomical theorizing. In Current in Space we discuss the illuminating findings from the nineth collection of UFO files recently turned over by the British government, then prepare for the August 6th landing of the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover by exploring the many unique attributes of this most exciting mission to the red planet.