Madison Reporter

A new book, "Chasing the Stars: How the Astronomers of Observatory Hill Transformed Our Understanding of the Universe," brings to life the history of Washburn Observatory and astronomy at UW–Madison. Co-authored by James Lattis from the Department of Astronomy and Kelly Tyrrell from the Office of Strategic Communication, this publication is a product of the Wisconsin Historical Society.

The book explores early stargazing practices, particularly those of Indigenous peoples in the Upper Midwest. The Dakota, Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin, and Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska are among those whose oral traditions are discussed. The mound builders' ancestral burial mounds atop cliffs overlooking rivers are believed to have served as vantage points for mapping out stars. Scholars have identified correlations between these earthly mounds' arrangement and celestial constellations.

The narrative also delves into other forms of ancient Indigenous astronomy in the Midwest, such as pictographs along Minnesota’s North Shore and Canada’s Hudson Bay. Carl Gawboy, a retired professor of American Indian Studies at College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, discovered that these figures represented Ojibwe constellations after years of research.

The authors also discuss Western archaeologists' understanding of prehistoric Indigenous astronomy inferred from Ohio Hopewell sites established between 200 BCE and 200 CE, and prehistoric sites at Cahokia near present-day St. Louis and Trempealeau in western Wisconsin.

Sissel Schroeder, an archaeology and anthropology professor at UW–Madison, posits that early Indigenous peoples developed sophisticated uses for astronomy related to observations of solstice and lunar alignments. However, she warns against making assumptions about why certain sites were created.

In addition to highlighting ancient stargazing practices, "Chasing the Stars" acknowledges darker aspects of history—specifically, that Washburn Observatory was built on land previously occupied by an effigy mound destroyed during construction. Edward Holden, the observatory's second director, emphasized the importance of preserving surviving mounds as "striking memorials of a race whose language even is unknown."

"Chasing the Stars" serves as a testament to Wisconsin's contributions to our understanding of the universe, from ancient Indigenous stargazing practices to modern astronomical innovations.