These 5000-year-old Egyptian coffins depict the Milky Way galaxy, astrophysicist says

Depictions of people raising their hands towards the sky underneath a stretched-out depiction of a goddess forming an arcing sky above them, with stars covering her body.

Ancient depictions of the Egyptian sky goddess Nut may represent one of the earliest visual interpretations of the Milky Way galaxy, a new study suggests.

In a recent study, astrophysicist Or Graur analyzed 125 images of Nut (pronounced "Noot") across 555 ancient Egyptian coffins dating back nearly 5,000 years. In only a few depictions, however, Nut is shown with a black curve bisecting her star-studded body. Graur says that curve could be an early depiction of our home galaxy.