The Emu in the Sky
Aboriginal astronomers see a giant emu stretched along the Milky Way, made not of stars but of the dark spaces between them.
What was reported
Look at the Milky Way from a dark place in the southern hemisphere, and you'll see dark lanes of dust winding through it. Many Aboriginal peoples see in them the shape of an emu, its head at the Coalsack near the Southern Cross and its neck and body stretching across the sky.
Its position through the year matters: when the emu appears to run, in autumn, real emus are breeding; when it seems to sit, they are on their eggs. Rock engravings near Sydney seem to show the emu lined up with its shape in the sky.
Explanations offered
Aboriginal astronomy is among the oldest in the world, used for navigation, seasons and law. The 'dark constellations' are made of clouds of dust that block starlight. The emu is part of cultural knowledge that is shared, and respected, today.
- When
- Known for thousands of years
- Where
- Ku-ring-gai Chase, New South Wales, Australia
- Witnesses
- Aboriginal peoples across Australia
- Status
- Explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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