Aboriginal Australians may have been the world’s earliest astronomers, says a Sydney scientist who has used ancient “Dreaming” stories and Google Earth maps to locate a previously unknown meteorite crater in the Northern Territory.

While researching the role of the night sky in traditional Aboriginal culture, Duane Hamacher, a PhD student at Macquarie University, came across a story related by the Arrernte people of Central Australia. It told of “a star that fell from the sky, making a noise like thunder, and crashed into a waterhole” in Palm Valley, west of Alice Springs. SOURCE – NZ Herald

SEE ALSO: Google, Dreaming lead to ancient crater

AN ABORIGINAL Dreaming story about a star crashing to earth with a noise like thunder has led to the discovery of an ancient meteorite crater in central Australia.

A Sydney astronomer, Duane Hamacher, found the bowl-shaped crater in Palm Valley, about 130 kilometres south-west of Alice Springs, by searching on Google Earth. SOURCE – The Sydney Morning Herald

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