Both New York University Egyptologist Patricia Blackwell Gary and Astronomy senior editor Richard Talcott hypothesize that the shapes of the ancient Egyptian pyramid and obelisk were derived from natural phenomena associated with the sun (the sun-god Ra being the Egyptians’ greatest deity at that time).[11] The pyramid and obelisk’s significance have been previously overlooked, especially the astronomical phenomena connected with sunrise and sunset: Zodiacal light and sun pillars respectively.