The ancient Egyptian goddess of the sky and how I used modern astronomy to explore her link with the Milky Way

Hieroglyphs depict a giant woman forming an arch above someone laying down and someone raising their arms next to two birds and an eye. On her back, two boats on either side, filled with people. .

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.

Or Graur is an associate professor of Astrophysics at the University of Portsmouth's Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, an honorary associate professor at University College London (UCL), and a research associate at the American Museum of Natural History.