Llaman hamun tutayaypi punaman / quyllor hina ñawintin / llantullamanta paqarin, llaman hamun.
Viene La constelación de la Llama / por la noche / por la puna / con ojos estrellados / nacida de sombras / viene la Llama.
Comes the constellation of the Llama / through the night /
over the highlands / with eyes made of stars /
born in shadows / comes the Llama.
@www.andes.org

Picture: The dark constellation of the llama and Mayu (the celestial river).

ANDEAN ASTRONOMY
Here are some Qechua (the language of the Incas) words related to astronomy:

·  Inti: Sun, Killa: Moon, Qoyllor: Star, Ch'aska: Venus, Qollqa: Pleaides. Mayu: Milky Way

·  Wata: year, Killa: month, Tuta: night, P'unchay: Day, Chaupy p'unchai: Noon, Chaupi tuta: Midnight

·  Intiwatana: Solar Observatory

·  Quipu: Database and calculator (like a computer ...). Perhaps it was also a written system. A quipu is an assemblage of colored cords with knots. Several scientists have tried to break the quipu code, but there is still a lot to learn. I think that precious astronomical information was written on quipus. Who knows ... so much information ... comets, supernovae, eclipses ...

·  The 3 rules of the Inca society: Ama Sua, Ama Llula, Ama Kella: Do not be a thief, liar neither lazy.

HARVARD STATION IN PERU : Distances in the Universe & The Classification of the Stars

·  Using plates taken from Arequipa (Peru), Henrietta Leavitt discovered the luminosity-period relation of Cepheids in the SMC. Later, these stellar candles were used to measure extragalactic distances in the Universe, and to develop the Big Bang theory ...

·  and from spectra taken at the Harvard Station in Peru, Annie Cannon (and others) built the famous Henry Draper (HD) catalogue, classifying thousands of stellar spectra, and introducing the most used classification system in astronomy (OBAFGKM).

DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN ASTRONOMY IN PERU

·  The first Peruvian to earn a degree in astronomy (Univ. La Plata) is Prof. Astronomer Maria Luisa Aguilar (about 1970).

·  In 1982 M. L. Aguilar founded SPACE (Seminario Permanente de Astronomia y Ciencias Espaciales) at the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (UNMSM), the oldest university in the Americas. SPACE is the major organization that promotes astronomy (research, teaching, popularization) in Peru. The home page of SPACE is: www.concytec.gob.pe/space

·  In the 90's several Peruvian students went abroad to study astronomy. The first Peruvian to get a PhD in Astronomy is (as far as I know) Rafael Carlos. He is currently working at the UNMSM.

·  In the 2000's Prof. Maria Luisa has been working hard to put a telescope in the highlands of Cuzco. As often as possible, R. Carlos and students of SPACE-UNMSM, make photometric observations using a small telescope + CCD camera.

 SUPPORT ASTRONOMY IN PERU: donate a laptop computer (or books)

·  You are very welcome to make a donation. Want to get rid of your notebook? Our students will really appreciate your contribution. Please, contact Jorge Melendez (jorge @ astro . iag . usp .br).

·  Books, Fellowships, Travel Grants, Equipment, Subscription to journals and magazines, etc., will be greatly appreciated.

·  Some books we would like to receive: Astrophysical Quantities 4th ed., Astrophysical Formulae 3rd ed., An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics (Carroll & Ostlie 1995), Fundamental Astronomy 4th ed. (Karttunen 2003), Astrophysical Techniques 4th ed. (Kitchin 2003), The Observation and Analyses of Stellar Photospheres 2nd ed. (Gray 1992), Radiative Processes in Astrophysics (Rybicki 1985), Astrophysical Concepts 3rd ed. (Harwit 1998), Space Physics (An Introduction to Plasmas), The New Solar System (Beatty 1998), Sky Atlas 2000 2nd ed, Norton's Star Atlas & Ref. Handbook 20th ed., Observer's Handbook 2004, Observing Variable Stars (Good 2003)