Posted on 08/25/2002 10:16:02 PM PDT by petuniasevan
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
Explanation: The ancient text has no known title, no known author, and is written in no known language: what does it say and why does it have many astronomy illustrations? The mysterious book was once bought by an emperor, forgotten on a library shelf, sold for thousands of dollars, and later donated to Yale. Possibly written in the 15th century, the over 200-page volume is known most recently as the Voynich Manuscript, after its (re-)discoverer in 1912. Pictured above is an illustration from the book that appears to be somehow related to the Sun. The book labels some patches of the sky with unfamiliar constellations. The inability of modern historians of astronomy to understand the origins of these constellations is perhaps dwarfed by the inability of modern code-breakers to understand the book's text. The book remains in Yale's rare book collection under catalog number "MS 408."
The constellations on the manuscript may provide some indication as to its origin. Some are known Western constellations; others are not known. Other cultures, notably the Chinese, had their own system of arbitrary star groupings. Any theories out there? Etruscans? Mohenjo-Daro? An unknown branch of Celts/Galatians?
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Hehe ... maybe we should say, getting the right eyes to see the manuscript. &;-)
Plain old pot heads?
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Looks kinda like a caracature of MOOhamad in the center. You are in big trouble now.
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