Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have been reading the night sky for tens of thousands of years, making First Nations astronomy among the oldest continuous astronomical traditions on Earth. Long before telescopes or written records, sky knowledge was used to build calendars, predict seasonal change, navigate vast distances, and pass down law and history, a genuine, sophisticated science encoded in story, song, dance and art.
At Songlines, we get asked about this constantly during National Science Week: how do you make the science curriculum genuinely inclusive of First Nations knowledge, rather than bolting it on as an afterthought? Astronomy is one of the clearest, most compelling answers. Here’s what the knowledge actually involves, why researchers now call Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples possibly the world’s first astronomers, and how to bring it into your classroom or organisation authentically.
First Nations astronomy is the body of knowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples developed through sustained, careful observation of the sun, moon, stars and planets, used for practical purposes like timing harvests, predicting weather, and navigating Country, as well as for law, ceremony and storytelling. Unlike Western astronomy’s written and mathematical tradition, this knowledge was (and still is) held and transmitted orally, through songlines, story and art, tied to specific places and passed down with precision across an extraordinary span of time.
Researchers studying the field, including astrophysicist Ray Norris (CSIRO) and astronomer Dr Duane Hamacher (Monash Indigenous Studies Centre), have found growing evidence that Aboriginal Australians could be the world’s oldest astronomers, based on records of star positions, eclipses, meteor events and seasonal star calendars that show careful, sustained observation stretching back tens of thousands of years.
Sky knowledge wasn’t abstract, it is deeply practical, woven into daily and seasonal life:
Seasonal calendars and food gathering. The position and orientation of constellations at different times of year signalled when specific foods were ready. The “Emu in the Sky”, a constellation formed not from stars but from the dark dust lanes of the Milky Way, stretching from the Coalsack near the Southern Cross through to Scorpius, is recognised by many Aboriginal nations across the country. Its changing orientation through the year was used, among Western Desert peoples, to know whether it was time to hunt emu or collect their eggs.
Eclipse and celestial event records. Aboriginal oral traditions include detailed accounts of solar and lunar eclipses, comets and meteor events, some matched by researchers to specific, dateable astronomical occurrences, evidence of careful, sustained sky-watching over a very long timeframe.
Navigation. Star positions were used alongside songlines and land features to support travel across vast distances, with some traditions able to determine cardinal directions to within a few degrees of accuracy.
Contact and trade. For the Yolŋu people of Arnhem Land, the rising of the Scorpius constellation traditionally signalled the annual arrival of Macassan trepang fishermen from Indonesia, sky knowledge directly informing trade and seasonal preparation.
Torres Strait Islander astronomy an intricate system of scientific observation. The night sky serves as a calendar, navigation guide, and ecological map to track seasonal changes, animal breeding, and tides across the islands and centres on Tagai, a creation figure represented by a vast constellation spanning the southern sky, whose story governs Torres Strait Islander law, custom and seasonal calendars to this day. Tagai’s left hand is formed by the stars of the Southern Cross (Crux), holding a spear; his right hand, formed from stars in Corvus, holds a fruit. Alongside Tagai, the constellation Baidam (the shark) – including the Southern Cross – is used for navigation, with the “gills” of the shark pointing north and the Southern Cross pointing south.
Torres Strait Islanders traditionally observed the sun, moon and stars to time fishing, planting, harvesting, and hunting turtle and dugong – a complete seasonal calendar built on sky observation, still considered an important part of daily and cultural life today.
Astronomy is one of the most natural, curriculum-aligned entry points for embedding the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures cross-curriculum priority, because it’s genuinely, rigorously scientific. Seasonal calendar-building through star observation, predictive knowledge of celestial events, and navigation by star position are real astronomical science, independently developed and refined over an extraordinary timeframe. Treating it as a genuine STEM topic, not a one-off cultural activity square during NAIDOC Week, is both more accurate and more curriculum-aligned.
National Science Week (mid-August each year) is a natural moment to make this connection explicit, but the strongest programs treat First Nations astronomy as a standing part of the science curriculum, not a single week’s feature.
Are Aboriginal Australians the oldest astronomers in the world? Researchers including Ray Norris (CSIRO) and Duane Hamacher (Monash) have found growing evidence supporting this claim, based on oral records of astronomical events, seasonal star calendars and navigational knowledge that show sustained, careful sky observation stretching back tens of thousands of years, among the oldest continuous astronomical traditions documented anywhere in the world.
What is the “Emu in the Sky”? The Emu in the Sky is a constellation recognised by many Aboriginal nations across Australia, formed by the dark dust lanes of the Milky Way rather than stars. Its changing position through the year traditionally signalled seasonal events, including when to hunt emu or collect their eggs.
Who is Tagai in Torres Strait Islander astronomy? Tagai is a creation figure represented by a large constellation spanning the southern sky in Torres Strait Islander tradition, whose story underpins Torres Strait Islander law, custom and seasonal calendars, including guidance for fishing, planting, harvesting and hunting through the year.
Is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander astronomy the same across Australia? No. Star knowledge, constellations and associated stories differ significantly between Aboriginal Nations and between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander traditions altogether. Always attribute specific stories to the specific community they belong to, rather than treating any single tradition as universal.
How can teachers bring this into the classroom for National Science Week? Start with genuine curriculum-aligned resources (like Stellarium’s Aboriginal starlore mode), connect with local Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander organisations for locally appropriate content, and treat sky knowledge as real science, not a stand-alone cultural activity, so it fits naturally into an ongoing science program, not just one week a year.
