This feature resembles the Great Rift, a dust lane dividing the Milky Way. Graur interprets this as a representation of our galaxy. In the Valley of the Kings, similar patterns accompany images of Nut ...

Before that, with the glow of the Milky Way out of the way, you’ve got great viewing conditions for deep sky objects like distant galaxies.

This depiction is thought to illustrate the Great Rift, a band of dust and gas that appears to split the Milky Way in two. While this is the clearest known evidence for the ancient Egyptians ...

This depiction is thought to illustrate the Great Rift, a band of dust and gas that appears to split the Milky Way in two. While this is the clearest known evidence for the ancient Egyptians ...

An unusual depiction of the ancient Egyptian sky goddess Nut may include a representation of the "Dark River" or "Great Rift"—the band along the Milky Way caused by dust clouds.

Graur reviewed 125 similar images of Nut from a wider collection of 555 coffins. He believes this line may represent the Milky Way, particularly the Great Rift—a dark band of cosmic dust that appears ...

In exploring various cultures’ Milky Way mythologies, Graur was struck by ancient Egyptian written sources that referenced the galaxy, such as the Pyramid Texts, Coffin Texts, and the Book of Nut.