Guest
Astronomer Dimitri Douchin, PhD invites us to take a break and imagine ourselves outside, feeling the breeze and looking up at the stars. The modern mapping of the sky has a long history, going back to ancient Babylonians and Greeks. We know that thanks to cultural Astronomy, a relatively new science that looks at how different cultures relate to the sky, scientifically and otherwise. In Australia, William Dawes, an astronomer, learned the local Aboriginal language and recorded it in his diaries. This tradition of collaboration between Australian Aboriginal people has continued today to rebuild astronomical cultural knowledge. There is a lot of overlap between how different cultures view the sky, such as the Orion constellation identified in many parts of the world. Astronomers can learn more about humanity as a whole by putting these pieces together. For this reason, it is paramount to reduce light pollution from artificial lighting and to care for the sky. This talk was given at TEDxKatoomba on 30th June 2023 Live production & filming by KFM Media Timestamps: 0:00 The name of stars tell their history 02:18 Love story in colonisation times 03:40 Relearning Australian Aboriginal Astronomy 04:54 Orion and the Seven Sisters: a common heritage? 08:07 The human experience of stargazing 10:32 Constellations of the mind 12:02 Space and ground light pollution 14:40 Caring for the Sky, caring for humanity - Dimitri Douchin has a PhD in Astronomy & Astrophysics and co-founded Blue Mountains Stargazing in 2020. He is a researcher at Western Sydney University collaborating with Aboriginal communities in the Blue Mountains to relearn local traditional astronomy. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at
