The night sky in the time of the dinosaurs

What’s Happening

Not gonna lie, The night sky in the time of the dinosaurs would have looked much different than today’s.

Some famous stars had not yet been born. The post The night sky in the time of the dinosaurs first appeared on EarthSky. (and honestly, same)

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The Details

Step outside on a moonless night and gaze at the night sky. Your eyes will likely first seek out familiar patterns of stars, such as the constellations Orion the Hunter or Sagittarius the Archer.

There are just certain sights that make a stargazer feel at home. But if you could travel back to the age of the dinosaurs, most of the familiar stars would be nowhere to be seen.

Why This Matters

During the long reign of dinosaurs from roughly 230 to 66 million years ago the constellations we recognize today didn’t exist, at least not in their current forms. Stars are not only constantly being born and dying, theyre also always on the move. Just like our sun and its solar system, stars follow their own path through the Milky Way galaxy.

This could have implications for future research in this area.

Key Takeaways

• And over millions of years, these differences can create a whole new starscape overhead.
• The stars the dinosaurs saw would not have been the same as the ones we see today.
• For starters, 100 million years ago, we would have been on the other side of the Milky Way galaxy.
• And all the other stars would have been following their own individual paths through our Milky Way.

The Bottom Line

They didnt come into existence until after the age of the dinosaurs. Rigel is a mere 8 million years old, and Betelgeuse is perhaps 10 million years old.

What do you think about all this?