The Big Dipper
In the darkness of night, starlight and moonlight share the sky.
How many stars can you count in the Big Dipper?
Did you know you could get a star named after you?
How many stars can you count in the Big Dipper?
Did you know you could get a star named after you?
The Big Dipper is one of the most recognized asterisms, or star clusters, found in the night sky. The seven luminous stars that shape the Big Dipper form the body and tail of the constellation Ursa Major, the Great Bear. Because the Big Dipper is easily recognized, and a constant in the night sky, it became the inspiration for many legends and myths, fueling our ancestors imaginations.
But the stars serve a practical purpose as well. Mapping the stars as a way to navigate the land, the seas and the seasons, is an ancient practice. Farmers noted the position of the Big Dipper as a guide to the changing seasons. Sailors use them to chart their course and relied on the seven stars of the asterism to help locate true north. During the time of the Underground Railroad, runaway slaves learned a song about the drinking gourd, another name for the Big Dipper, which taught them to keep those stars in front of them as they sought passage to the North and the hope of freedom.
Locating the Big Dipper is fairly simple, especially if you consider the seasons. In fall and winter you can see it low in the sky and along the horizon; in spring and summer the stars are perched high in the night sky. Remember: Spring up, fall down.
But the stars serve a practical purpose as well. Mapping the stars as a way to navigate the land, the seas and the seasons, is an ancient practice. Farmers noted the position of the Big Dipper as a guide to the changing seasons. Sailors use them to chart their course and relied on the seven stars of the asterism to help locate true north. During the time of the Underground Railroad, runaway slaves learned a song about the drinking gourd, another name for the Big Dipper, which taught them to keep those stars in front of them as they sought passage to the North and the hope of freedom.
Locating the Big Dipper is fairly simple, especially if you consider the seasons. In fall and winter you can see it low in the sky and along the horizon; in spring and summer the stars are perched high in the night sky. Remember: Spring up, fall down.
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