A new study suggests that ancient depictions of the Egyptian sky goddess Nut may represent one of the earliest visual interpretations of the Milky Way galaxy.
In a recent study, astrophysicist Or Graur analyzed 125 images of Nut (pronounced “Nut”) in 555 ancient Egyptian coffins dating back about 5,000 years. But only a few of the images show Nut with a black curve cutting through her star-studded body. Graur says that curve may be an early image of our home galaxy. Graur’s latest findings were published April 30 in the Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage.
“I think the wavy curve represents the Milky Way and may be an image of the Great Rift — a dark band of dust that cuts through the bright band of diffuse light from the Milky Way,” Graur, an associate professor at the University of Portsmouth and a research fellow at the American Museum of Natural History, said in a statement. “Comparing this image to a photograph of the Milky Way shows striking similarities.”
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In these images, the Egyptian goddess Nut is depicted arching over the Earth god Geb, forming the sky. Her arms and legs touch the horizon, and her body forms a protective dome over the world. According to Egyptian mythology, Nut swallows the sun god Ra every night and gives birth to him every morning, symbolizing the solar cycle.
In Egyptian depictions, Nut is often covered in stars, symbolizing the night sky and, in some cases, perhaps the shimmering arc of the Milky Way that stretches across the sky above the Earth.
However, Graur argues that while there appears to be a connection between Nut and the Milky Way, they are not the same, as the sky goddess is not always depicted with the dark, wavy curve that is thought to represent the galaxy’s Great Rift.
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“Nut is not a personification of the Milky Way,” Graur added. “Instead, the Milky Way, along with the sun and stars, is another celestial phenomenon that may adorn Nut’s body in her role as the sky.”
The study builds on Graur’s original research published last year linking Nut and the Milky Way, and is part of a larger project exploring the multicultural mythology of the Milky Way.
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