Stars - always were a very important component of the story of Stonehenge. The subject matter of this web-site and to be found in the text of 'Stonehenge 2020 - The Way Forward' describes, in detail, a number of ways in which a very specific, small group of stars were the principle theme for the design of the monument from the very beginning.
I show how the main axis of Stonehenge about which it was built is to a stellar target, rather than solar or lunar.
I have identified the stars that were at the focus of Stonehenge and show why and how the monument was built, first and foremost, to identify them.
It is a very clear focus and it is the only one within the design. Stonehenge was designed to reach out beyond our planet, sun, and solar system and in to the Cosmos. Within the design of Stonehenge there are 'layers' of information. We can peel back these layers, one by one.
Stars - (Part (A)) - Stars at Stonehenge - during the age of building between B.C. 3000 and B.C. 2000
Much of the story of Stonehenge being unravelled here involves the relationship of the design and ultimately of the mind-set and intention of the builders and designers with a particular point in the Cosmos and, almost certainly, a particular star. Therefore it seems sensible to describe the location of what was of such very great interest and ultimately led to the creation of Stonehenge. (Also the Great Pyramid at Giza and possibly other great monuments in other lands and at other epochs.) The information on this web-page and how it ties in with Stonehenge can be read about in greater detail within the main Stonehenge document on site-page 2 - 'Stonehenge 2020 - The Way Forward'.
I did not expect, when I first started on the Stonehenge 'trail' many years ago, to finish up in the stars. Specifically at one very small area of the Cosmos within the Regulus Group in the constellation Leo. But we often do not know where our actions will lead us to in the future. It has been a very interesting, even at times exciting, trail to follow. I hope that I can demonstrate the importance of the Regulus Group.
Stonehenge is about several themes and one of the dominating ones is the mid-summer sunrise when the annual journey of the sun is at its highest, brightest and hottest, and we all, in the Northern Hemisphere, generally feel at our best. Specifically it is about summer solstice sunrise because the whole monument is built with 'arms open' towards the direction in north-east to which we are directed by the Heelstone and, beyond this, the 'Avenue'. This does not mean that we are only directed to the sun. We can see further than that into the sky and the Cosmos at this time and direction. This is all that I have done - looked further and deeper.
What could be of interest to early people beyond our close sun? Let's explore. Why? CURIOSITY of course!
BE CURIOUS! (Like those early people.)
Early civilizations lived with simple material possessions, 'close to nature'. Without our modern city-life, - streets, houses, roofs, piped water and electricity, heating and more, they lived either in 'simple' houses or beneath the sky. Its fairly certain that they knew the sky - by day (obvious), sun, weather, seasons. By night beneath the heavens. (Seemingly totally overlooked by modern scientific thought - archaeology?) Without the joy (?) of modern street lighting they were well aware from birth, of the routine of the stars. Especially of the annual pattern in which familiar groups (constellations?) moved across the sky with the season and then vanished by day to reappear months later again in the opposite direction to repeat their journey.
They may not generally have ordered this process into a precise and detailed system as modern astronomy has done. But they would certainly know and remember. This situation, for them, was probably the basis out of which grew religion - 'ritual' - so beloved as a fall-back by modern academics when trying to explain inexplicable monuments to the layman.
(Sadly modern professionals themselves seem generally completely unable to take on board the rudiments of astronomy and give credit for the possibility that early civilizations had 'noticed' what was happening above. So very often I have seen the 'demolition' work carried out by archaeologists on anybody daring to propose that early people had the interest or intelligence to study and learn the dynamic of the night-sky. It is seriously to the detriment of these professionals that, because they seemingly are unable to understand and get to grips with the subject of astronomy, they are so quick to 'rubbish' any attempt by others to raise the subject. They seem to fail to understand that the night sky occupied half of the lives of early civilizations (no television or pubs) and that it had to be a major part of their existence. By adopting this attitude they deny early peoples half of their lives whilst at the same time claiming to speak for them. Perhaps one day a university or college that trains young archaeologists will dare to introduce a basic astronomy - including stars - module (NOT cosmology) into the course and thereby attempt to produce more well-rounded professionals.)
It may be a contentious fact with modern science but I also believe that they would have noticed - discovered - very early on, that the pattern of the Cosmos - of the night sky - was very slowly changing or moving relative to the annual fixed points of daybreak, dusk, and mid-day. It is a gradual process, or cycle, spread over many thousands of years due to the direction of the two poles of the axis of the revolving Earth moving slowly through the sky. The cycle is called 'Precession of the Equinoxes' (perhaps ' Precession of the Poles' is easier to visualise). The discovery of this process, according to received wisdom, is credited to early Greek astronomers, but it could be argued that this is because the early Greeks were the first to physically write this fact and describe it in a form that has survived into our modern world.
A similar situation prevails with the identification of the constellations and the annual passage of the sun through them. Credit is given variously to ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia or Egypt for first identifying how the sun followed an annual journey, through which constellations it travelled, and at what season it would be in a particular place. Once again these civilizations were the first to physically record such observations in forms that have survived to be recovered in our modern times. But I would argue that the knowledge was almost certainly prevalent in many parts of the ancient world that did not leave written record. Furthermore that we have our own North Western European 'document' within Stonehenge if only we would have the courage to read and acknowledge it. We so easily underestimate the capability of human memory in our modern times because we have little need to remember so much thanks to our technology.
If we put together all of these possibilities for ancient minds, memory and intellect we arrive at a situation where it was known which stars (constellations) could mark the passage of the sun, what season of the year the sun would occupy a particular part of the sky, and the gradual movement of all of these points relative to each other. Were ancient minds capable of imagining that this whole process was continuous? Had been, was, and was to be, onwards into the future? Somebody managed it as we can now see when we consider the FACTS and NUMBERS within the design of Stonehenge.
It is now known that the Great Pyramid at Giza was built c. B.C. 2500 and shortly afterwards Sarsen Stonehenge c. B.C. 2500 -2400 (with later additions and alterations to the Bluestones continuing possibly through to B.C. 2000). Both demonstrate, as well as their obsession with size and accuracy, a very accurate portrayal of Regulus in Leo, as I show by various means within this web-site. (In greater detail throughout my main document, 'Stonehenge 2020 - The Way Forward', on web-page 2). For this to be the case, clearly, Regulus was well-known as a star of the ecliptic, or path of the sun through the zodiac constellations. It is believed that the Ancient Babylonians of Mesopotamia were studying and recording the path of the sun through the Zodiac before B.C. 3000. It follows that, within the Ancient World, this matter, and doubtless many other aspects of sun / constellation / Zodiac, had been under scrutiny for many centuries or possibly even millennia before these two great monuments were started.
It seems reasonable to assume, notwithstanding whether or not 'written' records have survived in any form, that the movement of the Cosmos and of individual stars relative to the sun, was also detected.
Regulus has traditionally been associated with the sun since ancient times because its position, within the constellation Leo, is very close to the sun's annual path (ecliptic). It is important to be aware that there are very few bright, naked-eye stars close to the ecliptic and therefore associated so directly with the sun. Possibly because of this proximity, Regulus has been regarded as a 'Royal' star / 'King-maker' since ancient times. If this was so it gave Regulus special status / priority amongst other stars. (I do believe that there was a greater reason why Regulus had this status. My reason will become more clear as this story develops.)
If Regulus was of special importance to star studies within the Ancient World, it would certainly have been studied very closely. At some time, probably many centuries before the concept of the two great monuments first arose, it must have become apparent that Regulus and the sun which met in very close conjunction once per year during early summer, were moving more closely towards conjunction at mid-summer as the years slipped past. Again another high point of the year, especially in more northern latitudes, was the time of mid-summer (solstice) when the sun reached its highest altitude, rose furthest north on the horizon, and days were longest, warmest and driest. We do not know how much the Ancient World celebrated the mid-summer solstice but they would certainly have anticipated this time with enthusiasm and pleasure. The complete opposite of cold, dark, wet, miserable, hungry winter.
The graph and its accompanying data sheet below demonstrate how Regulus and the sun came to convergence ('conjunction') at summer solstice during mid 3rd millennium B.C. At this time Regulus was about at the highest point that it would achieve in the sky and its furthest north rising point along the horizon. From then on it began steadily to decline due to the shifting pattern of the Cosmos because of Precession of the Equinoxes (and Poles). It will be very many thousands of years before it again ascends to such a height. If Regulus does indeed mark a very important area of the Cosmos because of some other feature therein, as is my main contention, then it is understandable that it was (and still should be) such a focus of the attention of Earthbound astronomy. And that its maximum coinciding with the Solstice was such a 'monumentally' important event.
The date was c. B.C. 2340.
Amongst the Regulus Group the declination of 'Little Star',
H833.828 was almost 23* 4', if I am correct that this star was the main focus of attention.
In a story that seems to be 'riddled- with this group of digits I can here point out one more:- .A.D. 234-sun declination 23*40'
Why is this group of digits so important?
The horseshoe of Trilithons at Stonehenge is formed thus:-
_ _ _ _ _
l l l l l l l l l l
alternatively:- l0l l0l l0l l0l l0l
decimal
value:- 2 3 4 0 5
Now a situation was detected by somebody in one of the early civilizations whereby the annual conjunction of Regulus and sun was moving steadily towards mid-summer solstice. Nowadays we so easily lapse into referring to the possible religious / ritual beliefs of ancients to imply a range of inexplicable artefacts / buildings / traditions that have been left behind by them without generally any idea whatsoever of what these remains might mean or how they were used. We actually cannot prove any of the many and varied suggestions that ancient people devised to satisfy their spiritual needs. We have no idea.
But what I can say categorically is that Stonehenge and the Great Pyramid were both constructed very quickly and just before the mid-summer conjunction of Regulus and sun. Furthermore I can, and have, demonstrated within this web-site and my 'Stonehenge 2020' document (web-page 2) that much of the primary architecture / artwork visible within these two monuments is closely and directly linked to the conjunction of Regulus and sun at mid-summer that occurred during the 24th century B.C. (Between B.C. 2400 and 2300.) It seems to me that this is proving mathematically, geometrically, architecturally and astronomically what was the objective, purpose and meaning of the construction of these two monuments. If it is unacceptable to many professionals because, 'It just is not possible - they couldn't be that clever', I cannot help them. It needs to be explained how all of these facts were combined four and a half millennia ago.
For those of us who can accept that this mid-summer conjunction between Regulus and the sun was the most monumental event that would ever dominate the lives of these ancient civilizations, then we also can accept that this was believed to be of enormous importance to them and to the world at large. And that it would continue to be so for far into the future. Why else build monuments that were clearly meant, as they would see it, to last 'for ever'? Why was this conjunction so important? What was so important about Regulus?
I have written extensively, here, about how the conjunction was marked. Also I have tried to extract what I believe was the focus of all of this. It was not just Regulus but rather the Regulus Group. And the only way on from that is to try to find what could be so important within the Group. There are no other bright stars or celestial objects. Nothing immediately obvious. There can only be something NOT obvious. Now we have reached an age when we have the means available to look and see with technology what we cannot see with our own eyes. Who will pick up this challenge?
There does not seem to be any other potential celestial 'target' or focus within the story that I have extracted from Stonehenge or the Great Pyramid. They both seem to follow just one specific path and to the same point. Preposterous or tantalising?
==============================================================================
Stars: - (Part (B))
The 'Little Stars' within the Regulus Group that rose with the sun at summer solstice c. B.C. 2340
The star map, above, shows the little, distant , naked-eye invisible stars that followed the Heelstone Slit at Stonehenge upwards at the time of the mid-summer solstice sunrise c. B.C. 2340. All that I have done is to look into the particular part of the sky that includes the sun and Regulus at this time, but more deeply . This little group is part of the Regulus Group. At the bottom is 31 Leo which marks the lower limit of the Group. The focal point is the 'Little Star' H833.828 that matches with the declination value of 23* 4' that fits onto the Heelstone Slit when the Heelstone is correctly scaled from the central area of Stonehenge, as I show in the web-page 'Data 1' and discuss extensively within the full document 'Stonehenge 2020 - The Way Forward' to be found on web-page 2.
I have attempted to make minor correction from earlier attempts to take account of likely Proper Motion over 4400 years. This is slightly uncertain as different star catalogues give different values, but the general tiny area is only slightly changed. H833.1062 that fitted first attempts has moved very slightly upwards but the overall picture remains the same.
The focal point that is now H833.828 would be the star that 'lay' within the tiny chamber at the bottom of the Heelstone Slit when the B.C. solstice sun lay within the Heelmark on the face of the Heelstone and Regulus was in its 'notch' on the top north-west, or left-hand, edge. If one is looking for Ancient mythology / 'religious' belief, or an Ancient sentiment of 'God' / 'Heaven' / Divinity, then here is a picture that the Ancients may well have recognised and held to be, of a sacred focus that was held for safety within the 'belly' of the great Heelstone until it was escorted outwards by the sun and Regulus to be born into the light of the midsummer dawn. Hence Regulus became the 'Kingmaker'.
All of the stars within this group, including H833.828, are very distant, visually very tiny, and there is little or no information to be found. It will be said that there is no way that the ancient world could even know of their existence. That is completely and totally the wrong attitude. The correct attitude is to BE CURIOUS and investigate to the best of ability, looking for anything that MAY be special about one or other. Firstly there must be something within this part of the Cosmos that was of such extreme interest. Second, with present technology it will not require much actual time to acquire a lot of relevant data. Third, somebody in the Ancient World appears to have had a very good ability with sophisticated Binary numbers and a future dating system for a developing civilization! It would be perfectly in keeping with this fact if they also could be shown to have been quite clever at pin-pointing 'invisible' stars!
====================================================================================================
Part (C): - 'Joining the Binary Dots' -- Summarizing some current conclusions concerning the Binary expressions within the main stone formations of Stonehenge. Demonstrating how they all relate to one another and link together to give one, single, unified picture.
Following on from previous work, I now have three out of the four stone formations with related Binary values.
1). Sarsen Trilithon Horseshoe. Binary 2 3 4 0 5
Solar Obliquity: B.C. 2 3 4 0 decl. 23* 57' 45"
A.D. 2 3 4 0 decl. 23* 23' 42"
Mean 23* 40' 44"
2). Bluestone Horseshoe: (18 stones) Binary 2 6 2 1 4 3
Solar Obliquity: A.D. 2000 23* 26* 21' 45"
3). Sarsen Circle. Binary 7 6 8 6 1 4 3 3 6 4 0 4 5 6 4 6 5 0
Two examples of stars within the Regulus Group.
(a). 31 Leo B.C. 2 3 4 0 decl. 22* 52.294'
A.D. 1 9 8 7 10* 03.450'
Difference 12* 48.844'
the difference value of 12* 48.844' = 768.8'
Binary expression = 768 6
(b). H833.1062 (Now re-designated USNO J1007355+101541 )
B.C. 2 3 4 0 decl. 23* 05.610'
A.D. 1 9 9 5 10* 17.076'
Difference 12* 48.534'
the difference value of 12* 48.534' = 768.5'
Binary expression = 768 6
The Summary So Far: -
1). Three stone formations have all yielded declination values.
The choice of declination values for various celestial events described within Stonehenge is the correct one. Although much of my work in interpretation of Stonehenge has involved the use of local coordinates of altitude and azimuth when trying to make sense of the Heelstone and many other features, these local values suffer from several handicaps.
Firstly they are local to that particular geographical point and cannot just be translated to other sites. Second, altitude values are subject to such factors as horizon refraction, height of observer above ground level, disagreement as to which sight-line of alignment markers to use, to name just a few variables. Third, local coordinates are only correct for their date of use but there are few ways to permanently demonstrate a particular date or time. (At Stonehenge summer solstice is indicated very effectively.) These are just some of the more obvious problems for local coordinates.
Declination is a universal, global system, useable from a very wide range of location. It is a standard global reference system used and understood world-wide. It is a 'pure', fact-based reference system, not subject to local physical variation, although, even here, date and time are needed. Stonehenge manages to achieve date and time by combining the Binary expression integrated into the design of the Trilithon Horseshoe and which implies Obliquity of the Ecliptic at two widely spaced dates, with the obvious overall focus of the monument on summer solstice sunrise: - an ingenious combination.
All three stone formations summarized here are now yielding declination values that, ostensibly, relate to a single celestial theme of date and focus, extensively backed up by the design and layout of the stone monument, its geographical location, and the sheer size and survivability of its conception, selected material and construction. It would be very easy to 'test' Stonehenge. In this new and very 'clever' scientific epoch the equipment and knowledge are now available. It only requires the enthusiasm and willingness of those who manage these technological celestial observing devices that, presumably, exist for the greater good and benefit of the whole of humanity at large, to look the correct way at the correct time. What chance?
2). Values are all in format, degrees - arc minutes -decimal minutes or arc seconds. Clearly implications in a monument that is c. four-and-a-half thousand years old.
3). All three declination values fit together to give a single picture of celestial coordinates in our modern epoch, but based upon coordinates for just one ancient epoch of the time of the creation of Stonehenge at B.C. 2340.
The Sarsen Trilithon Horseshoe yields a dateable scheme for a summary of solar obliquity.
The Bluestone Horseshoe fits on to the same picture but giving a date for our current, modern epoch.
The Sarsen Circle gives the declination change for the stars of the Regulus Group from their initial B.C. date of the Trilithon date range to our modern date as supplied by the Bluestone Horseshoe. (Actually c. 1987 / 1995 v. 2000 - but we are dealing with Binary Expressions rendered in gigantic megalithic rock format. There must be a limit to how much precision can be given.)
Three out of four stone formations!
==================================================================
Number Four - The Fourth Stone Formation - The Bluestone Circle.
(4). Bluestone Circle (61 stones) Binary 2 3 0 5 8 4 3 0 0 9 2 1 3 6 9 3 9 5 1
(N.B. (1):- 230* is the azimuth value of the Stonehenge Back Axis. - Reverse of the Main Axis to the Heelstone.
(N.B. (2).:- Sarsen Circle x3(0) = Bluestone Circle
768614336404564650 x 3 = 2305843009213693950 (1)
or 7686 x3 = 23058
(Is this 'showing off' or did somebody just like playing with big numbers?)
Declinations of some of the 'Little Stars' within the Regulus Group. (The 'Little Stars' of the Regulus Group are one of the main themes of the whole of my interpretation of the astronomy within Stonehenge. - See my two web-sites.)
Epoch B.C. 2340.
'Old' Hubble Number New USNO Number Declination
H833.1062 USNO J1007355+101541 23* 05.6'
H833.1185 USNO J1007357+101614 23* 06.17'
H833.732 - 23* 0.53'
H833.986 - 23* 05.43'
H833.828 USNO J1008007+100921 23* 03.39'
Bluestone Circle Binary (61 uprights) 2 3 0 5 8 .......
Generally the same comments apply here as for stone formations (1), (2), and (3) on previous pages. The values are declinations. The format is degrees - decimal arc minutes. Values are as at B.C. 2340. All of these 'Little Stars' are within the Regulus Group that rose with the sun at mid-summer solstice, B.C. 2340. The whole process is illustrated across the face of the Heelstone at Stonehenge.
Declination 23* 05' corresponds very closely to one of the main features upon the Heelstone face, notably the long, slanting slit that rises from the centre of the stone towards the north-east edge, at the same angle of inclination as the rising of celestial objects at this time and geographical location.
There are a number of other features and facts that fill out this very specific picture, generally described and discussed extensively in my manuscript 'Stonehenge 2020 - The Way Forward' to be found at this web-site, page 2, under 'PDF':-
Also discussed further at www.stonehengesolutions.info
Four out of Four stone formations!
=================================================================