Then we experience the Heliacal rising (when the Venus first rises from behind the sun), it stays in this state for about 260 days. Then Venus reaches superior conjunction, where for 50 days it is on the opposite side of Earth as the sun, consequently it is dimmed. Then it rises from behind earth and becomes the evening star, for approximately 260 days. Finally it goes back behind the sun for the inferior conjunction again.
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As can be seen, Mayan's found links in many of their calendar dates to those of astronomical features (such as the number 260). They also used these features of Venus's orbit with respect to Earth to plan for War, Celebration, and Sacrifices.
In the Dresden Codex, the Maya had an almanac that displayed the full cycle of Venus. They counted five sets of 584 days, that is 2,920 days is approximately 8 years or 5 repetitions of the Venus cycle. .
The Sun.
The Maya evidently thought quite a bit about the Sun and they watched it trace out a path along the ecliptic. They followed it year round, presumably following its path along the horizon as well. At "Chichen Itza", during sunset a sun serpent rises up the side of the stairway of the pyramid called El Castillo on the day of spring and Autumn Equinox. It tells us that the Maya noted, not only the extremes of the Sun at the Solstices, but also the Equinoxes when the Sun appeared to rise due East or due West. In addition to the Zenial Passages mentioned earlier, ecliptic observations must have been a major portion of Maya solar observing.
The Moon.
The Maya had a lunar component to their calendric inscriptions. After giving the pertinent information on the date according to the Maya calendar the typical Maya inscriptions contain a lunar reckoning. The lunar count was counted as 29 or 30 days, alternating. The lunar synodic period is close to 29.5 days, so by alternating their count between these two numbers the moon was carefully meshed into the calendric sequence as well.
