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An Aboriginal Australian record of the Great Eruption of Eta Carinae

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.14/119962

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Title: An Aboriginal Australian record of the Great Eruption of Eta Carinae
Related: Journal of astronomical history and heritage, Vol. 13, Issue 3 (2010), p.220-234
Publisher: James Cook University
Date: 2010
FoR/RFCD Code(s): 220200 History and Philosophy of Specific Fields
Author/Creator: Hamacher, Duane W
Author/Creator: Frew, David J
Description: We present evidence that the Boorong Aboriginal people of northwestern Victoria observed the Great Eruption of Eta Carinae in the nineteenth century and incorporated this event into their oral traditions. We identify this star, as well as others not specifically identified by name, using descriptive material presented in the 1858 paper by William Edward Stanbridge in conjunction with early southern star catalogues. This identification of a transient astronomical event supports the assertion that Aboriginal oral traditions are dynamic and evolving, and not static. This is the only definitive indigenous record of Eta Carinae's outburst identified in the literature to date.
Description: 15 page(s)
Subject Keyword: 220200 History and Philosophy of Specific Fields
Subject Keyword: historical astronomy
Subject Keyword: ethnoastronomy
Subject Keyword: Aboriginal Australians
Subject Keyword: stars
Subject Keyword: individual (η Carinae)
Resource Type: journal article
Organisation: Macquarie University. Dept. of Indigenous Studies - Warawara
Organisation: Macquarie University. Dept. of Physics and Astronomy

Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.14/119962
Identifier: ISSN:1440-2807
Identifier: mq-rm-2010002711
Language: eng
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