How much did ancient people know about astronomy?

Here are a few things the scriptures teach us about the astronomical world!

1. Orbits
Mormon said, “Surely it is the earth that moveth and not the sun” (Helaman 12:15). So apparently the Nephites knew that the earth orbits the sun, not the other way around.

2. Constellations

Several scriptures refer to stars (see Isaiah 13:10 and 2 Nephi 23:10). And sometimes specific constellations are named—like Arcturus, Pleiades, and Orion—all of which we can see today (see Job 9:9 and Amos 5:8).

3. Time
The Lord talked about astronomy with Abraham. He said time passes differently depending on which planet we’re on and how that planet moves—an idea not unlike what modern scientists refer to as time dilation. Scriptures give the example of Kolob, which is a planet “nigh unto the throne of God,” and state that one day on Kolob is like a thousand years on earth (see Abraham 3).

4. The Lord’s role
Often when people in the scriptures mentioned astronomy, they also mentioned the Lord’s power over those creations.

• Job said God can command the sun and stars and that He made the constellations (Job 9:7–9).
• In the book of Psalms, the psalmist said the Lord knows the names of each star and how many stars there are (Psalm 147:4).
• Alma said the planets and their regulated motion are a witness of the Supreme Creator (Alma 30:44).
• Mormon said God could move the earth and make it rotate backward if He chose to (Helaman 12:15).

Isn’t all of this fascinating? Some members of the Church devote their lives to studying astronomy. These scriptures are probably some of their favorites!

Bonus: Click here and scroll to 4:15 to watch a video of Elder Neal A. Maxwell visiting a stargazing observatory! He was an Apostle from 1981 to 2004.