Maya astronomers looked to the heavens for guidance. They made close observations of the sky and kept detailed records of the sun and moon. This enabled them to predict eclipses accurately. The Maya believed that the gods guided the sun and moon across the sky.

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They used observatories, shadow-casting devices, and observations of the horizon to trace the motions of the sun, the stars and planets. They recorded this information in their books, or "codices". From these observations, the Maya developed calendars to keep track of celestial movements and the passage of time.

Rulers liked to associate themselves with gods of the sky. Maya murals and carvings show rulers wearing symbols of the heavens, including a belt or sky-band made of a chain of symbols relating to the Moon, the Sun, Venus, day, night and the sky. Rulers are also shown carrying bars decorated as sky-bands to indicate that they had the mandate of heaven. Sometimes they are seated, surrounded by a sky-band which gives the ruler a halo of celestial authority. Maya rulers and priests often "clothed themselves with the heavens" by dressing in the pelt of the jaguar, whose spots were taken to represent the stars.

They were also interested in the movements of the Pleiades star-cluster, Mercury, Mars and Jupiter and Venus.