Egyptian Astronomy:
To the ancient Egyptians, astronomy was very important, but had a much larger mystical element to it. Watching, charting and predicting the movements of the heavens had a huge role in many Egyptian religious rituals. In fact, the pyramids were constructed to align with the stars as they appeared some 5,000 years ago.
There was also a practical side to the Egyptians’ interest in astronomy – predicting the flooding of the Nile. The Egyptian civilization was completely dependent on the river and needed to know with accuracy when it was going to flood. By tracking the stars, the Egyptians developed a calendar which is very similar to the one we use today: 365 days, 12 months with 30 days each; every month divided into three weeks of 10 days each.
Babylonian Astronomy :
Dating back to 1800 BCE, the Babylonians were amongst the first civilizations to document the movements of the Sun and the Moon. They maintained a very detailed record of these motions including daily, monthly, and yearly positions of the celestial bodies. Back then, astronomy had quite a significant mystical component so the scribes also interpreted omens for the king and warned him about potential future events. The Babylonians discovered that lunar eclipses recurred in a repeating cycle known as a saros. They also made the first recorded observations of Halley’s Comet during both its 164 BCE and 87 BCE apparitions.