Post by glaucus on Nov 30, 2019 10:14:35 GMT
A study by Huber in 1958 showed that for some of the zodiacal signs the dates predicted in Babylonian Almanacs for when a planet will cross from one sign to another coincide with the dates predicted for when the planet is in conjunction with one of the so-called ‘Normal Stars’ (a group of reference stars used by the Babylonians) in the Normal Star Almanacs. More recently, Jones has found the same coincidences in the observational texts known as the Astronomical Diaries. These studies imply that the Babylonian zodiac was fixed sidereally (i.e., with respect to the stars), rather than tropically (i.e., with respect to the equinoxes) as in Greek astronomy. The discovery of two Babylonian catalogues of Normal Stars listing the positions of the stars in degrees within zodiacal signs supports this conclusion
The zodiac appears in five principal contexts within Babylonian astronomy:
1. The zodiacal sign in which a visible planet is located during a month is reported in the summary at the end of an Astronomical Diary. In later Diaries, beginning in the last quarter of the third century B.C., this information is supplemented with the date on which the planet crossed from one zodiacal sign to the next.
2. The zodiacal sign in which a visible planet is predicted to be located at the beginning of a month and the date on which the planet is expected to cross from one zodiacal sign to the next is recorded in the Almanacs.
3. The zodiacal sign in which a planet is located on the day of its first and last visibilities and at its stations is recorded in the Astronomical Diaries, the Normal Star Almanacs, the Almanacs, the Goal Year Texts and in several planetary compilations. In some cases the zodiacal sign is qualified with the adjective ‘beginning’ or ‘end’.
4. The zodiacal sign in which the moon is located during a lunar eclipse is occasionally recorded in the Astronomical Diaries, the Normal Star Almanacs, the Almanacs, the Goal Year Texts and in some eclipse texts. In some cases the zodiacal sign is qualified with the adjective ‘beginning’ or ‘end’.
5. In the texts of mathematical astronomy the positions of the sun, moon and planets are given in degrees and fractions within zodiacal signs.
www.academia.edu/2360664/A_Study_of_Babylonian_Observations_Involving_the_Zodiac
The Normal Stars
a series of 32 individual stars located close to the ecliptic that the Babylonians used to indicate the positions of the moon and planets in the Astronomical Diaries. The list derived from Astronomical Diaries and related texts from Babylonia by Hunger and Sachs, 1988, pages 17-19
The bright star of the Ribbon of the Fishes
The front star in the head of the Hired Man
The rear star in the head of the Hired Man
The Star Cluster
The Bull's Jaw
The northern (rein) of the Chariot
The southern (rein) of the Chariot
The front star of the Twin's feet
The rear star of the Twin's feet
The star of the Twin's close to the Shepherd
The star of the front Twin
The star of the rear Twin
The northern star at the front of the Crab
The southern star at the front of the Crab
The northern star at the rear of the Crab
The head of the Lion
The King Star
The small star 4 cubits behind the King Star
The hindquarters of the Lion
The rear foot of the Lion
The single star in front of the Furrow
The bright star in front of the Furrow
The bright star of the Furrow
The southern part of the Scales
The northern part of the Scales
The central star in the head of the Scorpion
The upper star in the head of the Scorpion
The Lisi Star
The bright star on the tip of Pabilsag's arrow
The horn of the Goatfish
The front star of the Goatfish
The rear of the Goatfish
The Babylonians had Moon's nisirti 'secret place' (precursor to exaltation) as The Star Cluster which is the Pleaides.
Both Tropical Zodiac and Sidereal Zodiac have early Taurus as the Moon's exaltation.
In Tropical Zodiac, the Pleiades are at the end of Taurus/beginning of Gemini.
In Sidereal Zodiac, they are at the beginning of Taurus.