h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Thanks, everyone!

If the Pleiades are definitely identified, then surely the other stars must have a stellar identity. What else COULD they be? Mind you, if a profesional astronomer can't do it, who can? Much food for thought.

I think you are correct (Horizion Thursday) Schlosser used computer software that is incredibly accurate perhaps that is why it had difficulty identifying the stars other than the pleiades on the disc, he used ancient egyptian text for that. The other stars must be significant not just back ground.
I also feel the holes around the outer edge are more significant than merely attaching to cloth,I have tried to count them I think there are 39 if so it could have a link to the lunar calendar,perhaps for calculating weeks like the minute hands on a clock,any thoughts?
any thoughts Gnomon ?

1. The stars are a random pattern, with the exception of the 7 which appear to represent the Pleiades. They are not intended to represent actual positions of stars.

2. The holes were clearly added after all the other features, because they actually damage some of the other details. 39 does not match up to any significant number in the lunar or solar calendar.

Scientists! Who else could pontificate like them?

"The stars are a random pattern, with the exception of the 7 which appear to represent the Pleiades. They are not intended to represent actual positions of stars."

No one other than the maker of the disc is in a position to pronounce that sentence. Come off it Gnomon: they are random just so long as nobody has deciphered the "intended" pattern. There are no actual random patterns: there are attempts at random patterns, but we do not know if this is one.

When will they ever learn?

Gnomon, just a thought,39 is 3/4 of a lunar year, spring to autumn the full growing season perhaps,why are you certain holes were added after construction, the damage could have occured after.
I would like to see if the stars on the disc matched up to any of the constelations, any sugestions?

You're welcome to try. They don't look like constellations to me. Some of the outer ring of holes were punched through the golden parts of the disc, damaging the gold. This suggests they were added later. That doesn't mean they didn't have an astronomical significance, though.

Hi alandm

39 is 3/4 of 52 for sure. But when the holes were punched in the sky disc (whenever that was ), would they have divided the year into 52 weeks?

When did weeks and months happen? I wonder if the Time and Dates entry tells me

Frenchbean

Well, I found this very unilluminating statement -not!

*What is the origin of the 7-day week?
Digging into the history of the 7-day week is a very complicated matter. Authorities have very different opinions about the history of the week, and they frequently present their speculations as if they were indisputable facts. The only thing we seem to know for certain about the origin of the 7-day week is that we know nothing for certain.

The first pages of the Bible explain how God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. This seventh day became the Jewish day of rest, the sabbath, Saturday.

Extra-biblical locations sometimes mentioned as the birthplace of the 7-day week include: Egypt, Babylon, Persia, and several others. The week was known in Rome before the advent of Christianity.*

F/b

How can anyone be in any doubt about the seven-day week? One of nature's given figures is the 365¼- day year (approx) and another is the 28-day lunar month. Seven is a fairly obvious division of the latter.

And this is not pontifiction, right? Just obvious.

Yes, the 29.5 day lunar month divides very neatly into four weeks of 7.375 days each.

Oh. Well, close enough for rock'n'roll.