[Camille Cazedessus]

Camille Cazedessus asked the Naked Scientists:
   
Are the star charts nearly exactly the same now as they were 10,000 years ago. NOT where polar star is, but the CHART of Stars relative to each other, visually from here on Earth?  One new bright star was very dim  in ancient times...which one is it?

What do you think?

[RD]

The position of stars does change ...

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnard%27s_star

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proper_motion

They can change in brightness too ...

In 185 CE, Chinese astronomers recorded the appearance of a bright star in the sky, and observed that it took about eight months to fade from the sky. It was observed to sparkle like a star and did not move across the heavens like a comet. These observations are consistent with the appearance of a supernova, and this is believed to be the oldest recorded by humankind.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_supernova_observation#Early_history

[LeeE]

I don't think there were any star charts 10000 years ago.

The Sumerians probably had star catalogues, written up in Cuneiform, around 3500-3000 BC, so they might have also had star charts around that time too.