Скачать или смотреть Twinkling Stars, Coming Rains: Indigenous Science of the Skies

736. The Indigenous astronomer who predicted seasonal changes without instruments This method of celestial forecasting was not unique to the Pitjantjatjara. Across the continent, other Indigenous groups developed their own sophisticated astronomical systems. The Torres Strait Islanders, for example, observed stellar scintillation—the twinkling of stars. They knew that increased twinkling was a reliable indicator of atmospheric turbulence, heralding the arrival of rain and critical shifts in trade winds. This practice, like that of the Pitjantjatjara, was based on generations of careful, empirical observation passed down through culture. These systems were essential for survival, demonstrating a profound, scientific understanding of the natural world long before the arrival of modern instruments.