ɪn ɐ lˈeɪɾɚɹ ˈɪntɚvjˌuː, tˈaɪsən stˈeɪɾᵻd ðæt hiː kˈɔɪnd ðə tˈɜːm, ænd ðˌɐɾɪt wʌz ɪnspˈaɪɚd baɪ ɐ tʃˈaɪldhʊd vˈɪzɪt tə stˌoʊnhˈɛndʒ ˌɔn ɐn ˌɛkspədˈɪʃən hˈɛdᵻd baɪ dʒˈɛɹəld hˈɔːkɪnz, ɐn ɐstɹˈɑːnəmɚ hˌuː wʌzðə fˈɜːst tə pɹəpˈoʊz stˌoʊnhˈɛndʒᵻz pˈɜːpəs æz ɐn ˈeɪntʃənt ɐstɹənˈɑːmɪkəl əbzˈɜːvətˌoːɹi jˈuːzd tə pɹɪdˈɪkt mˈuːvmənts ʌv sˈʌn ænd stˈɑːɹz, æz ˈaʊtlaɪnd ɪn hɪz nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd sˈɪksti fˈaɪv bˈʊk stˌoʊnhˈɛndʒ dᵻkˈoʊdᵻd.
In a later interview, Tyson stated that he coined the term, and that it was inspired by a childhood visit to Stonehenge on an expedition headed by Gerald Hawkins, an astronomer who was the first to propose Stonehenge's purpose as an ancient astronomical observatory used to predict movements of sun and stars, as outlined in his 1965 book Stonehenge Decoded.