Coaque: An Astronomical Icon in the Middle of the World*

Abstract

Abstract This study aims to contribute to the astronomical studies for the creation of the astronomical and archaeological museum in Ecuador. Coaque, a fishermen village in the north coastal of Ecuador, is an iconic place where astronomy and archeology converge and portrays the geodesic and astronomical history of Ecuador. The 16th Century ethnohistorical data is rich on descriptions about abundance of wealth and land fertility within equinoctial zones. This awoke the curiosity of Europeans on the geodesic position. Two centuries later, La Condamine and Bouguer of the French-Hispanic Geodesic Mission, first measured the zero-degrees latitude at Punta Palmar, just south of Coaque. We present the detectability of the Crab Nebula, a high energy TeV source revealing the potential for astroparticles field of study. Also, we clarified the wrong idea of the equilibrium of an egg at zero latitude, a popular misinterpreted physical phenomenon.