As there are so many Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait astronomies and cosmologies, commonalities are unusual. However one of the ‘things belonging to the sky’ that seems common to all groups across the continent is the open star cluster of the Pleiades. Yet interpretations of this cluster vary. So far I have tentatively identified four different cultural areas, the first being most of mainland Australia; the second being the islands south of mainland Australia known as Tasmania; the third being the cultural area of north-eastern Arnhem Land; and the fourth being the cultural area of the Torres Strait Islands. Within these areas, versions of the stories vary as contemporary circumstances change.

The Ryukyu (Okinawa) Islands are situated in sub-tropical zone between the Japanese Archipelago and Taiwan. Although Okinawan people have a rich tradition of star lore, few studies have been undertaken on its relevance to subsistence, religion and the socio-political system. This paper is a first attempt to explore a systematic relationship between star lore (e.g. relating to the Pleiades) with agriculture, fishing, navigation and religious practice. This paper also considers the possibility of interpreting the nature of prehistoric and historical stone structures from the viewpoint of archaeoastronomy. This kind of analysis is likely to be fruitful, since the kingship of the Ryukyu Islands was strongly associated with sun worship.

The megalithic monuments of Arles–Fontvieille appear to have been deliberately constructed such that a ray of the setting sun on and around the equinox penetrates the subterranean chamber producing a spectacular light-and-shadow hierophany. Moreover, at one of the sites there is evidence in the form of rock art that observations were also being made of heliacal rising and settings, possibly of both the Pleiades and Orion. The equinox hierophany has been documented at three of the four intact monuments of the group. This phenomenon was probably exploited for sacred ritualistic purposes related to seasonal change and timekeeping by the agricultural people who built the monuments. This evidence has significant importance for understanding these monuments in the context of European megalithism and the wider European Neolithic as well as for understanding their cosmological role within the society that built them.

Among the Western Tobas of the province of Formosa, Argentina, the asterism called Dapi'chi (the Pleiades) is highly important. Traditionally, it is related to the start of the annual cycle and it is also a very significant figure in terms of its symbolic meaning. In fact, this celestial representation offers a range of insights connected to winter frosts, a type of air carnation (Tillandsia spp.–Bromeliaceae) and also to the role of the warrior.

This is a brief introduction to the ideas behind the art installation Siderea, Homage to Galileo that was created for, and exhibited at the IYA 2009 Opening Ceremony at UNESCO in Paris. The text narrates the attraction that astronomy exercises on the author, who studied Classics before becoming an artist and has always been fascinated by science.