MTalks—65,000+ Years of Indigenous Astronomy

For more than 65,000 years, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities have studied the intricate ways in which the sky and land are connected. Listen back to Kamilaroi astrophysics student Krystal De Napoli to hear about the methods Indigenous astronomers use to predict weather and harvest cycles from the sky, plan ceremonial practices, and navigate vast distances. This presentation will explores the use of orality as the vehicle for encoding and preserving astronomical knowledge over thousands of years, while describing phenomena such as solar eclipses, supernova, variable stars and moon halos.