4236 BC

The ancient Egyptians produced the first working and usable calendar. It dates back as far as 4236 B.C. This ancient calendar was based on the cycles of the moon and the Egyptians regulated the calendar by using the stars. Through observation, the ancient Egyptians noticed that a group of stars (Canis Major) rises next to the sun every 365 days. They noticed that this always occurred a few days before the annual flooding of the Nile River. This information was very helpful to them from an agricultural standpoint.


Ancient Egyptians tied astronomy together with the telling of time. They developed a calendar of 365 days a year. They divided the day and night into 24 hours and adjusted the length of the hours according to the season. They were among the first people to begin the day at midnight. When Roman leader Julius Caesar introduced the Julian calendar, it was based on discussions with Egyptian astronomers and that calendar was used until a slightly modified version, called the Gregorian calendar replaced it in 1582.

Did you know that these pyramids align with the stars in Orion's Belt?


 

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