The Ancient Astronomers Who Measured Time Using Venus
Chichen Itza observatory El Caracol ruins Mexico photograph There is a question that has quietly followed me through years of working in education. Why do so many students leave science classrooms believing that science is a collection of facts to memorise rather than a way of understanding the world? Over the years, I have reviewed countless lessons, textbooks, and learning materials. They are often carefully designed and scientifically accurate. A chapter on the Solar System might explain that Venus appears as both the Morning Star and the Evening Star. Another might describe the phases of the Moon or the changing seasons. Students are expected to remember these ideas, answer examination questions about them, and move on. Yet something is often missing. Rarely do these lessons begin with the question that must have fascinated the first person who looked carefully at the sky. Why does that brilliant object appear before sunrise for months, disappear completely, and then return a...