Ancient records complement modern instruments

Linked radio facilities across continents produced the data behind the image.

The published image shows glowing material surrounding a dark central region.

The achievement required many researchers and observatories, not a single telescope.

The timeline places Babylonian eclipse tablets and Chinese sunspot reports before telescopic European solar research.

Under particular atmospheric conditions, large sunspots and unusual solar effects could be recorded without telescopes.

Including Asian and Mesopotamian observations shows that systematic solar knowledge did not begin with the European telescope.

The chapter compares how the Sun, Moon, Venus, Pleiades and other celestial figures are gendered across diverse African societies.

The publication discusses relationships among Moon phases, menstruation, fertility, agriculture and social expectations.

Examples from different regions cannot stand for an entire continent with many languages, histories and knowledge systems.

Focusing on women changes which practices and interpreters become visible in the historical record.