Southern sky libraryMany Nations,
many skies.
29 cited objects from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sky knowledge, organised so one sky never swallows another.
Free to read · Cited sources · No account needed for the library
Gamilaraay
Gawarrgay
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this library names people who have passed away.
Mercury 91 is not affiliated with any Aboriginal Land Council, Torres Strait Islander organisation, museum, or Stellarium. This library cites published ethnoastronomy. It is not a partnership and not a single pan-Aboriginal sky.
A place to begin
Gamilaraay
Gawarrgay
Celestial emu in the dark dust of the Milky Way. Distinct from dhinawan, the emu on Earth.
Boorong
Tchingal
Boorong emu whose head is the Coalsack beside the Southern Cross.
Boorong
Warepil
Male wedge-tailed eagle centred on Sirius, chief of the Nurrumbunguttias in Stanbridge's record.
Yolŋu
Barnumbirr
Venus as creator spirit and morning star. Published songline from Bralgu. This catalog names the planet and the rope to the Sun. It does not restage the mortuary ceremony.
Tagai
Tagai
Islander ancestral fisherman standing in a canoe. Left hand is the Southern Cross (spear). Right hand is Corvus (fruit).
Wathaurung
Wurdi Youang
Wathaurung stone arrangement with published alignments to solstice and equinox sunsets. Shown as a site object, not a reconstructed ceremony you can walk.
There is no single Aboriginal sky. About 250 language groups held distinct Law. Torres Strait Islander astronomy is Islander, not a subtype of Aboriginal culture. This hub is a switcher, not a blend.
Western constellations are stick figures of stars. Many Australian skies treat dark dust, the Coalsack and the Great Rift, as the figure. That is the visual thesis of the /sky universe: an emu you can only see when the Milky Way is dark.
Guests can read every essay. People with a Mercury 91 account can enter /sky, a southern-hemisphere canvas with a season clock. The catalog is one list. The two surfaces share it.
The library
Showing 29 of 29 cited objects
Gamilaraay / Yuwaalaraay / Euahlayi
Northern New South Wales
Dark constellation
Gawarrgay
Coalsack through Scorpius dust lanes
Season marker
Dhinawan
Resource calendar tied to Gawarrgay
Star figure
Yhi
Sun
Sun, Moon, or planet
Bahloo
Moon
Dark constellation
Baiame and the Milky Way
Milky Way
Place on Country
Bora ground orientations
Milky Way vertical in August to the south-southwest
Boorong / Wergaia
Lake Tyrrell, north-west Victoria
Dark constellation
Tchingal
Coalsack and Scorpius dust lanes
Star figure
Warepil
Sirius
Star figure
Berm-berm-gle
Alpha and Beta Centauri
Star figure
Bunya
Gacrux, top star of the Southern Cross
Sun, Moon, or planet
Chargee Gnowee
Venus
Star figure
Kulkunbulla
Orion belt and sword
Galaxy or cloud
Brolga eggs
Large and Small Magellanic Clouds
Star figure
Neilloan
Vega
Yolŋu
North-east Arnhem Land
Wardaman
Victoria River and Daly Rivers, Northern Territory
Torres Strait (Tagai)
Torres Strait · Torres Strait Islander pack
Wathaurung
You Yangs, Victoria
Ku-ring-gai
Sydney basin, New South Wales
Visit the 3D southern sky
- Read by Nation. Start with Gawarrgay, Tchingal, Barnumbirr, or Tagai. Every card names Country and a citation.
- Keep Dreaming distinct from dreams. Dreaming here means Law, Country, and ancestral creation. It is not the Mercury 91 dream journal on /dreams.
- Enter the southern sky. If you have an account, open /sky with a Nation deep link. The 3D sky is members-only because the full universe already is. These pages stay public.
Questions
- Is this one Aboriginal constellation set?
- No. It is a library of distinct skies. Gamilaraay, Boorong, Yolŋu, Wardaman, Wathaurung, and Ku-ring-gai packs are Aboriginal. Tagai is Torres Strait Islander. The 3D viewer never draws two packs at once.
- Is Mercury 91 affiliated with a Land Council or museum?
- Mercury 91 is not affiliated with any Aboriginal Land Council, Torres Strait Islander organisation, museum, or Stellarium. This library cites published ethnoastronomy. It is not a partnership and not a single pan-Aboriginal sky.
- Is Dreaming the same as the Mercury dream journal?
- Dreaming here means Law, Country, and ancestral creation. It is not the Mercury 91 dream journal on /dreams.
- Does this site show secret ceremony?
- No. Restricted rows drop out of the catalog. Bora orientations are cited as published archaeology. The Morning Star mortuary ceremony is named as astronomy only. It is not restaged.
- Can I see /sky without an account?
- No. The southern sky universe requires signup and the same entitlement as /universe. Essays and citations on /southern-sky stay freely readable.
- Why are some Stellarium files missing?
- Stellarium’s Kamilaroi pack is CC BY-NC-ND. Mercury is commercial, so Gamilaraay geometry is drawn from published papers instead. Boorong Stellarium figures are CC BY-SA 4.0 and are cited; our silhouettes are original diagrams of the same identifications.