Pictures in the sky: the origin and history of the constellations

Speaker: Mr Ian Ridpath
Filmed at The Royal Society, London on Fri 17 Sep 2010 1pm - 2pm
royalsociety.org/events/2010/c...

[@Wonderboywonderings]

Great presentation. Love the maps and care that our ancestors put into their scientific craft.

[@MGromov1]

Beautiful conference.

[@SideWalkAstronomyNetherlands]

those dutch sailors were ordered to do astronomy because it was of vital strategic importance to know the stars in the south...you need them for navigation...if you make mistakes on your way to the indies...you might end up like the ship Batavia, stranded on the coast of west Australia...

[@chrisnewbury3793]

Steering = Starring

[@nas8326]

Star her up star her outta here

[@hollyrorienetwork]

Excellent presentation. Thank you for sharing your insight!

[@craigspence2413]

Thank to Ian Ridpath for a very well researched and clear presentation. It was very useful and informative, with lots of nice anecdotes and humour which make it more memorable and meaningful.

[@whitefeatherbean7429]

Patrick Moore's landmark "The Observer's Book of Astronomy" contains brief descriptions of 87 constellations; the one that is not mentioned is....Telescopium!! He had a wonderful sense of humour 🤗

[@hongry-life]

The images, contours are also visible on Google earth. You can find the outlines, like from Hercules, Big Bear and Little Bear and many more. So the sky pics mirror the earth features and are for easier navigation, denoting land and sea features. Stars do correspond with earth features as well, like Milky Way with Mariana Trench and Orion's belt with Giza and so on. As above, so below.

[@pgh412east]

I have searched and can't find it. Please can u help. I saw the information you posted about a few months ago but can't rem where. . Many thanks . Be safe.

[@eddiemuise4791]

I've often said we don't know everything about this world and the universe and the more we know maybe it'd be better for us the constellations are beautiful as is the universe when I look up it I'm in awe

[@stevesobel4521]

thanks!! very clear, concise, informative to the layperson

[@amanitamuscaria7500]

lovely talk. Thank you. Most informative and beautifully delivered.

[@steveburley5041]

excellent ....thank you SB australia

[@fidelfolozanoiii4499]

Job 38: 31 Can you tie the ropes of the Kimah constellation, Or untie the cords of the Kesil constellation? 32 Can you lead out a constellation in its season, Or guide the Ash constellation along with its sons? 33 Do you know the laws governing the heavens, Or can you impose their authority on the earth? 34 Can you raise your voice to the clouds To cause a flood of water to cover you? 35 Can you send out lightning bolts? Will they come and say to you, Here we are!36 Who put wisdom within the clouds Or gave understanding to the sky phenomenon? Apocalypse 14: 6 And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, and he had everlasting good news to declare to those who dwell on the earth, to every nation and tribe and tongue and people. 7 He was saying in a loud voice: “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of judgment by him has arrived, so worship the One who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and the springs of water.” ("יְהֹוָה,YHWH,Yahveh, Jehova") (Isaiah 42: 8-9, Psalms 83: 19).

[@lifewithlaura4057]

The great body of God, yet comes from within 💎 be kind, science doesn't realize the cause to the effects they study as yey, it is ALL relevant 💖

[@angelajoybb]

Please consider God’s word where it is explained how he told his people to look to the sky - His great works.

[@kamion53]

one thing you can say about the writer of Job: he was a pretty good observer and could give a clear picture of his observations, even with unfamiliar names like behemoth one easily recognise the description of a elephant in it. Kimah was probably the Hyades ( or Taurus) and Kesil Antares ( or Scorpio) and Ash or Ayish could be connected to the Big Dipper.

[@melissafarrugia9531]

Strange how many evidences of star knowledge has been overlooked or ommited. Such as the pyramids lining up precisely, at certain times with stars.. The mention in Job, one of the eldest books proven an authentic historic document, of the mazzaroth, and Arcturus shows that the stars were documented much earlier..

[@AntPDC]

Around 21:40 onwards: Mr Ridpath makes the somewhat speculative claim that the Greeks couldn't have invented the Constellations because the 36 degree North latitude is "too far South" of where the Greeks lived. Is he suggesting that the Ancient Greeks never ventured a handful of degrees southward into the Mediterranean? We know that they did: Crete, Cyprus etc. And at any rate, the great majority of the Constellations known then are visible from Greece and all parts of the World north.

[@SummumBonum.]

The Greeks didn't invent the constellations they got them from the Babylonians.

[@TheDarshanProject]

The Greeks got most of their astronomical knwoledge form the Chaldeans, and this was further developed in Alexandria which was a melting pot of many OTHER cultures. This video gives an impression as if most of this was stemming form advancements by the Greeks, which just isn't' the case and is pretty clear in most history scholarship.

[@fleureabeille4229]

Hello, would you mind to recommend an accurate documentary about the '88 constellations' ? Thank you

[@TheDarshanProject]

@@m.g.2799 Could you be more specific, so that I can reply to your criqitique? Wrote this 2 years ago. Pretty sure I watched it all, but sometimes I can only take so much of watching eurocentric bigots talking about science and ancient cultures and don't have time to re-watch it again..

[@bardmadsen6956]

@@TheDarshanProject - Around 20:00>23:00 It is narrowed down via the blank spot in the Southern sky to be originated from Iraq. I did not know that, nor why many times the art of constellations are mirrors of themselves. Seems that Ian Ridpath is well known in the UK. I'm still trying to get people to see the seven birds at the base of one of the monoliths in Enclosure D of Gobekli Tepe. Follow the Avatar

[@amanitamuscaria7500]

He said it began in Mesopotamia and spread to the Greeks via many other places.

[@amanitamuscaria7500]

@@TheDarshanProject why watch it at all, in that case?

[@iamfree6990]

The Earth does reflect the constellations coordinate for coordinate. Just use Google Earth and you will see the pictures are reproduced within the natural contours of the Earth. Coordinates match for all the constellations. Exactly. Capricorn is along the western coast of the western hemisphere from Alaska to Central America. Look at it's tail on the Yucatan Peninsula.

[@nik8099]

Mainstream scientists are frauds.

[@SummumBonum.]

Look it's a face :-)

[@cryptokidtv]

I often wondered about the constellations! Thanks for sharing, things make more sense to me now !!

[@eddiemuise4791]

I'm the same way

[@whatabouttheearth]

The FORM (as in, "these lines look like a scorpion") of the constellations more than likely came last. The MEANING as related to seasonal events or temporal markers (i.e. the season of the floods and monsoons, rams coming down from the mountains, harvest) probably came first, So the general likeness of the NAME probably came second, The STORIES that were used to encode the knowledge in a societies rituals probably came third, The SHAPE (the collection of stars) of the star groups probably came fourth, after a desire for more specific study increased, The FORM, as in making up some BS so that the SHAPE aligns with the character of the NAME of the constellation probably came last. or something simmilar, Its almost all just mnemonics, calanders and societal information encoding. But the scorpion, for example, may of represented a time of year when scorpions came out more.

[@nas8326]

And the eagle takes flight more?

[@petermackj]

A sky full of thanks to you

[@rajiv85777]

what was the purpose of these constellations? just for fun or was there a lot more to it?

[@rdthom12393]

People need to look into the Mazzaroth. Read Psalms 19 and it will make perfect sense why every language decided on the same constellations. Imagination wouldn't have the whole world completely agreeing on the same thing thousands of years before having the technology to universally display it.

[@SummumBonum.]

But they didn't agree.

[@rdthom12393]

@@SummumBonum. The names of the stars and constellations have universally translated to the same meanings forever. For example, Virgo is called Bethulah in Hebrew. They both translate to virgin in their own languages.

[@SummumBonum.]

@@rdthom12393 that doesn't prevent their origins from being Babylonian. What was Aries back then, it wasn't a Ram? The Greeks changed the shepherd to a Ram after the fact. So which is it, a Ram or a Shepherd?

[@renataheiberg7534]

Thank you for clarity. Great lecture!

[@martinfyffe-lawrence8527]

The origins were born out of the ancient Kemet now known as Egypt after it was conquered by the Greeks. This is where the Greeks obtained their own knowledge of the stars - If you research deep enough you will find that Greek mythology is all based off the ancient Kemetic culture & mythology; the Greeks simply changed the names to Greek ones!

[@lifewithlaura4057]

Indeed, Hermes and Thoth, the same founder of such wisdom ✨

[@shucksful]

Job, in the Bible, mentions Orion’s Belt . .along with many other mentions of the stars. The object here, from mr.dictionary pants is to make humanity and even the constellations, a product of random happenstance.

[@MrABolt]

Appreciate your comment before I wasted my time watching this

[@blancolobo6308]

And if you read the KJV in Job 38:31,32, it also mentions the Mazzaroth. Which is Zodiac in Hebrew. The stars tell the story of Jesus redemption of humanity. The Mazzaroth was corrupted when Israel went into exile & passed to pagan civilizations.

[@craigspence2413]

@@MrABolt it would not be a waste of time to watch a very well researched and informative presentation from someone who is clearly very knowledgeable and passionate about this topic.

[@leviathan5908]

@@craigspence2413 no this video is a waste of time lol

[@neil9231]

The whole virus mythology..from start to finish. Jesus is the Sun as it goes thru the zodiac.

[@yanmaunier2892]

Very good but it would have been better if the speaker had said where was sotuated the village in the begining of his story! Wich is AFRICA or KAMA

[@princekrazie]

To be fair, Gladii Electorales Saxonici is quite amazing.

[@Roses4YouTubers]

Elaborate please. Thanks 👍

[@susievarnado2142]

12 consolations of the South just like the 12 constellations of the north. Magic # 12 🤔🤔🧐 Is every thing about numerology?

[@prestonjoeyoung]

88 constellations. Not even a variable of 12, but sure.

[@darylwallace4946]

The reason why the current IAU constellation categories don’t match imagery is more a product of 1.) Modern Light pollution environment versus ancient skies 2.) Modern IAU constellation system clipping of original 3.) IAU constellation stick figures bare no resemblance. The reference to Cassiopeia’s comb is misrepresentative. Cassiopeia was seen as the queen holding onto her throne as she spins. The comb was a later addition of Coron to honor King Ptolemy’s wife’s votive offering) to include his sisters votive offering of her hair and a discarded comb as a new constellation (Coma Berenices). ie it’s a family joke

[@SideWalkAstronomyNetherlands]

Houtman is pronounce how-t-maan not hoodman with ou like as in pro n ou nce

[@chrisnewbury3793]

Plato would be so disappointed.

[@MarianaGarciaGrijalva]

"Um tsk" It personally annoys me that tongue-saliva sound. I wouldn't mind the constant Um if it didn't have that tsk, I just cringe when people do it. I don't know, probably I'm crazy. Edit: I didn't acknowledge the valuable content in this video. Great content nonetheless! Edit 2: I feel very embarrassed whenever I revisit this comment by a notification, I didn't mean to be rude to the content creator. As I said in the edit above, I did not recognize the effort of the creator. I admit it's still a little distracting but it's a good video.

[@DarkChief2]

I stopped the video because of it too lol

[@LaughingGemini]

Lol

[@Averagecanadian1984]

1:24 is as far as I made it..... tsk 🤯

[@davehallett3128]

Probably

[@davehallett3128]

Also. If you notice his fingernails are dirty

[@spaceprogramal37]

👌

[@Revelations-hr9fg]

luck aint got nothing to do wit it bruh or perhaps it was written in the stars kazahhhhhhhh!!!

[@SideWalkAstronomyNetherlands]

Mr. Edgard Strontsmurf?

[@princenosiatajansen]

7:33 this is the OLDEST Chinese paper document about the stars EVER in human kind. Its very Important" "so where is it ?" "In England of course" Daaamnnn english people are next Level 😆😆😆

[@mallardducks3615]

Well call the plough the big dipper where I'm from

[@kevin-gf5uz]

8:10 stars are glowing balls of gas like the sun - Job 1 : 20 The mystery of the seven stars, which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. I'm with Jesus. He states stars are angels.

[@gabrielegalli8191]

Precession

[@nathanaelcard]

"and above all *Imperialism"

[@SideWalkAstronomyNetherlands]

Bayer is pronounced like buyer, Houtman is pronounced like how-t- maan...

[@yveslaflute9228]

Condescendence transpires AGAIN. Doesnt look much of a Lynx to him, I'd like to see him draw a Lynx without having SEEN a PHOTO. Ya, corner a Lynx to get a good look, in daytime!

[@SummumBonum.]

This sounds like Steven Fry.

[@hollyrorienetwork]

I scanned the bible for constellations.

[@popipopi2434]

What about the mazzaroth??!!not mentionned!!

[@garyoldham4449]

Mazzaroth means Zodiac so he did mention it. It's just a different word to describe the same thing. Wait? What does Mazzaroth mean to you? Something spooky ookie and entirely kooky? 😜

[@donotreplydawgs]

She can't stop saying " tctct tct" ☠️☠️☠️😫

[@jasonlampione5459]

The constellations were created before the foundations of the Earth. They're to represent biblical scriptures and give credence to the creator, hence, the reasoning behind its unique intelligent design.

[@jasonlampione5459]

@Felippe DeMello The constellations of the heavenly bodies that lay fixated within the dome of the firmament. I am not talking about a given culture or time period, for this was the beginning of all time, itself.

[@jasonlampione5459]

@@m.g.2799 Huh??? Elaborate!

[@prestonjoeyoung]

Constellations don't exist. They're no more than us saying a cloud looks like something. Some of those stars are further apart from each other than they are from us. You're trying to cram the universe into our 2 dimensional, 3 color brain.

[@duckmouse-ts5yx]

no

[@kamion53]

"a confusing mass of dots" that is exactly the experience when going on holiday to an area with clearer sky and less light polution than in the city where I live. the patterns seen in the city show only the brightest stars and are rather simple. on holiday however is is an overwelming mass of stars in which the patterns get lost.

[@sinOsiris]

crux: the quest for man to imprint memory and shared indeed tendency of intellectual beings.... all throughout ages evolution comes not without semblance of what was once minutely small i.e microbial our origin the helical code stays of one gaze upon the minds are impressed and so findings are shared in languages known best ---- yes go get some small towel wipe clean tears in your eyes ----

[@faramund9865]

35:30 Give this man a gray beard, a blue cloak and a wide brimmed hat. :)

[@Silhouex]

Gonna guess this guy doesn't account for the procession of stars. When these stories were originally told the stars would have been in slightly different positions. Who knows if the messy "picture book" visuals aren't just a product of time displacing the image? I think this has been proven with Taurus and maybe others but if you go back something like 12k years you'll notice that Taurus looks a lot more like a bull. I'd look into myself but I have no idea how

[@buddahsneh]

Invisible sphere scattering light the sphere is invisible div n curl the gas balls

[@idelsagil9129]

4:52 5:03 5:05 5:10

[@celestinalunar6902]

She keeps saying "um" so over it.

[@alangarland8571]

I disagree, she says Er? more.

[@fernleystephens2436]

At least neither speaker kept saying "Like" in every sentence, a modern affliction as in "I was like, it was very interesting, like".

[@vanderdole02]

and no it is not beeyer. it is bayer with an ah not an ay...

[@nas8326]

He speaking English not german

[@sincereclemency3645]

God is not a human invention, He made these they are not man! Ignore the man-made turn your hearts to truth. Psalms 19

Greek's spoke Latin.. WTF is he talking about?

[@fotiskoutsou2089]

When did he said that? Min pls

[@HowTo5min-co3ni]

111k

[@imadoglover2009]

I couldn't pay attention after so many ahs ums and tsks! I found myself trying to count them even the man was doing it!

[@jaredyoung5353]

Presenter: I imagine ppl finishing dinner at night and telling stories, that’s where constellations come from. LAME For starters Early man probably was hiding or sleeping at night so constellations most likely where not dreamed up by the average person.

[@garyoldham4449]

I was always fascinated by the universe and always looking up. I had no fear of the universe. No Lovecraftian Dread of the unknown. I spoke of the wonders of the universe to my dad and he said, I don't really look up. I look down because everything I need to do is down here. In other words there are different personality types. So every single group or tribe or every period in history some were looking up and some were sort of frightened by it I guess you would say? Another friend I was talking to him about the amazing things of the universe and he said, please stop. I don't like to think about those things. It makes me dizzy to hear about that stuff. He was definitely not into astronomy. Then there are those who are so terrified of space and rocks flying around and basically fear of the unknown that they want the Earth to be flat with a protective dome so nothing can come and harm them. Anyone who was looking up would tend to see patterns and pictures. And would notice different constellations at different times of the year. And they would wonder why. And they would probably wonder what caused the phases of the moon. And those who were looking down, perhaps afraid or felt dizzy to look up, or simply felt it was a waste of time since the questions could not be answered, would not see pictures in the sky. Or if they did it gave them nightmares though I cannot imagine anyone not loving the night sky. But those who did love the night sky definitely connected the dots. Is far back as eyeballs connected to necks could look up. How could you be Homo Sapien, Neanderthal or even Cro-Magnon and not see patterns in the sky?

[@emotionalmodels8463]

Dude! You need to become conscious of the ancient Kemet (not Egypt! Egypt is a Greek name) wisdom!

[@leviathan5908]

Sounds like a naysayer presentation so far I’m only 8 minutes in though

[@rdthom12393]

People need to look into the Mazzaroth. Read Psalms 19 and it will make perfect sense why every language decided on the same constellations. Imagination wouldn't have the whole world completely agreeing on the same thing thousands of years before having the technology to universally display it.

[@markraven9931]

Hocus Pocus Focus 🧘‍♀️ 👽

[@joseluisalcantarasanchez269]

At 5:20 it was wrong enough, but nice. Bye!

[@gabrielevion7055]

lieslieslies

[@vanderdole02]

duh hoodman??? it is houtman, with an ou like in [now]...come on limey you can do it....pratice practice..

[@talitakoomi]

oh.....rats! why not show the speaker?? that would have made it so much better!!

[@braudhadoch3432]

This guy is in no way qualified to discuss this topic at a Anthropology context. Physicist need to stay in there lane, but of course, the theoretical physics groups are always doing this. The constellations have so much more meaning then a simple camp fire myth. The Book 'Numbers" is an entire Zodiac hidding in a Exodus Story. With Banners and Nunmbers. Captains Names make the Stars and Tribe make the constellations.

[@SideWalkAstronomyNetherlands]

bayer is pronounced bye-yr... not bay-er

[@TheMrEventz]

The ancient sky watchers and constellations were found in Egypt and Sumeria long before the Greeks arrived 😂 sounds like white washed information to me

[@fotiskoutsou2089]

Source?😂

[@TheMrEventz]

@@fotiskoutsou2089 go look at some archaeology buddy, I'm not the one claiming to be educating people 😂 The pyramids, stone circles, artwork across messopatamia, most the Greek gods names are taken from Egyptian history also shows that 😂 it takes less than a minute to find consistent evidence that suggest that what is said here is not the full truth 😂

[@fotiskoutsou2089]

One link of a KZbin explaining how the origins of the Greek gods are Egyptian pls, if that's a fact there is definitely such video

[@chrisnewbury3793]

Wrong. Resarch Newgrange in Ireland and Cadair Idris in Wales.

[@SideWalkAstronomyNetherlands]

Who ( how ;) ) come you can't pronoonce Houtman...basic lazyness?

[@EagleShieldBay]

Slow. I died of boredom in first 4 minutes.Moving on, bye !

[@ThisSentenceIsFalse]

urboring

[@ThisSentenceIsFalse]

urboringfelicia

[@vanderdole02]

too difficulr for you is it.... back to school maybe??

[@justice_w6]

You watched 4 minutes of a 46 minute video and decided it was so boring that you'd leave a comment about it before just clicking away. Very interesting

[@raycolquhoun1780]

Sounds good, but I suggest researching the Bible... answers are all there.

[@neil9231]

The bible is mythology

[@TheTrumanZoo]

So, no one ever actually noticed we only actually have one hemisphere that is mirrored and every single star is doubly named, as one observation is done opposite the other, in inverse directions. Start counting on a different date, looking another direction, and before you know it you have invented a second Southern Hemisphere. If you are a scientist, have an astrolabe laser edged onto two glass discs, the flip one over the other for a perfect inverted match, two halves matching each other perfectly. Before you mock me for being the first one to ever notice. Match them up and see for yourselves, even by looking at both halves can you see how half the milkyway matches the other half. No one ever noticed they invented a second hemisphere by naming the same stars moving in reverse order? Really? And not only that, we might have done doubled it twice. The 6 we only ever see are also observed from two opposite perspectives in reverse, when standing on earth.

[@TheTrumanZoo]

Oh wow, al Sufi knew we were looking at a mirror image from different locations on earth! Wow.

[@TheTrumanZoo]

Oh wow the Dutch invented the second half not understanding the stars appear to rotate in reverse for both halves. Now another Dutch man is explaining to you why haha.

[@TheTrumanZoo]

The constellations shapes will not appear to change in the future at all, that’s an assumption, they will never change, because they are fixed to a dome. And half the sphere is made up entirely.

[@vanderdole02]

allbrekked??? ch is pronounced like ch in loch, it is Albrecht...do your home work before you pronounce foreign names...please… don't be a yank..

[@AntPDC]

Looks like you need to "do your homework" on English grammar, judging by your multiple comments here.

[@ragheedeleyan429]

Stopped here 16:20 fake facts

[@justice_w6]

What's inaccurate about it?

[@iwildflower5300]

This is what. u .get .folks! not the whole truth!!! FROM when you don't know all about Who Jesus Christ The Lord God Is which created the heavens write there in scripture , book of genesis!

[@neil9231]

The bible is mythology..sun and the 12

[@Hyperborean_2]

This narrator has fake knowledge about this subtle subject

[@theskyatnightraw]

😶👎

[@lickitysmackity]

THE #GARDENOFEDEN IS IN THE SKY! 88 BIBLE BOOKS AND 88 CONSTELLATIONS!