Orion of the Maya

Two of my passions are history and astronomy. So what could be better than combining the two? Check out this lovely image of a Mayan temple at Tikal with Orion high in the sky above it, as shot by astrophotographer Stéphane Guisard (click for large version):

© Stéphane Guisard, Los Cielos de Los Mayas
Credit: Stéphane Guisard / IDAEH-Tikal

Also love this long-exposure picture which gives an idea of the mystique that the night sky would have had for ancient people, and summons up some of those strange feelings you get when you start to venture into the mindset of the myth-makers (the 'Imperishable Ones', the 'Hitching Post of the Sun', the center of the whirlpool):

© Stéphane Guisard, Los Cielos de Los Mayas
Credit: Stéphane Guisard / IDAEH-Tikal

For other galleries and higher resolution versions of these great shots, see Stéphane Guisard's website

Previously on TDG:

• Cosmic Sentinels
• Timescapes: Death is the Road to Awe
• The God with the Upraised Arm
• Spaceships in the Sun