Credit & Copyright: Robert Fedez
Explanation:
To see the feathered serpent
descend
the Mayan pyramid requires exquisite timing.
You must visit
El Castillo -- in
Mexico's
YucatAn Peninsula -- near an
equinox.
Then, during the late afternoon if the sky is clear,
the pyramid's own
shadows create triangles
that merge into the famous illusion of the
slithering viper.
Also known as the
Temple of Kukulkan, the impressive step-pyramid stands 30 meters tall and 55
meters wide at the base.
Built up as a series of square terraces by the
pre-Columbian civilization between the 9th and 12th century,
the structure can be used
as a calendar and is noted for
astronomical alignments.
To see the central band of our
Milky Way Galaxy descend overhead the
Mayan pyramid,
however, requires less exquisite timing.
Even the
ancient Mayans
might have been impressed, though, to know that the exact positions of the Milky
Way, Saturn (left) and Jupiter (right) in the featured image give it a time stamp
more specific than
equinox -- in fact 2019 April 7 at 5 am.
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 |
Yanvar' Fevral' Mart Aprel' Mai Iyun' Iyul' Avgust Sentyabr' Oktyabr' Noyabr' Dekabr' |
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
|
Publikacii s klyuchevymi slovami:
Milky Way - Mlechnyi Put'
Publikacii so slovami: Milky Way - Mlechnyi Put' | |
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