Indigenous Astronomy and What It Can Teach us

For tens of thousands of years, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have studied the stars, developing rich and diverse understandings of the sky that differ from Western astronomical traditions. With cultural histories extending over 65,000 years, First Nations Australians are considered the world’s oldest astronomers, holding deep knowledge of celestial movements and their meanings.

Their observations of the Sun, Moon, and stars were — and still are — used in practical ways: for navigation, tracking seasons, creating calendars, and predicting weather. But astronomy also plays a vital role in cultural lore, social structure, and identity. Knowledge is passed down through generations using oral traditions, including song, dance, and storytelling.

A key feature of Aboriginal astronomy is the "Emu in the Sky" — not made of stars, but formed from the dark spaces between them in the Milky Way. This figure is one of many examples of how Aboriginal people read the entire sky, not just the bright points of light.

Different communities across Australia have unique stories tied to the stars, explaining natural phenomena like the tides, sunrise and sunset, and the movement of planets throughout the year. Today, Indigenous astronomy continues to grow as an area of contemporary research, offering valuable insights into both science and culture.

As astrophysicist Krystal De Napoli puts it:
“Aboriginal astronomy is a different way of looking at the sky, because you're not just looking up at what's up above — you actually take in your whole environment.”

In Aboriginal culture, the stars relate to the ‘skyworld’, an important part of the Dreaming. The most practical reason for Aboriginal people’s interest in the skies would have been in relation to the changing of the seasons and corresponding knowledge about when certain foods and resources were available.

‘There’s so much science and observations and analysis embedded within our stories, within our cultures. Everything is connected and this is something that all Indigenous peoples know, live and see every day. What happens down here to us is so connected to what’s happening up there and vice versa.’ — Karlie Alinta Noon, Gamilaraay