Starry Winter Nights
© Irene Taylor
If your class is studying the constellations, here is a great activity: Constellation Capers! Read on for information on some famous constellations found in the winter sky.
For ancient peoples, the night sky was a place inhabited by gods and goddesses, and creatures of great size and power. As they gazed skyward, they began to "connect" the stars and "draw" pictures by grouping the stars into what we now call constellations. Stories were told to give meaning to what was observed. These stories are the myths we know so well today.
One of the easiest constellations to find is the Big Dipper. Unlike some constellations that are seen only at certain times of the year, this easily recognizable star pattern is visible in the sky all year long. Too find it, just face north, and look up. Once your eyes have grown accustomed to the dark, it is easy to pick out the seven stars that make up this group. Four comprise the bowl of the dipper, and three make up the handle. The middle star of the handle is actually a double star, Mizar and Alcor. The ability to see these two stars was used as a test of eyesight in past times. See if you can pick them out! Watch the Big Dipper through the night and you will see it swinging around the sky in a big arc. Depending upon the time of night, the Big Dipper will appear to be on its side, or upside down as if pouring its contents on the Earth below.
The Big Dipper is actually part of a larger star grouping called Ursa Major, or the Great Bear. This star group was associated with the figure of a bear by many cultures around the world. The handle of the Dipper forms the tail and other stars join it to form the head and body of a great bear in the sky.
Why does this Great Bear have such a long tail, and why is it in our sky each night? According to Greek mythology, Zeus, the greatest of the gods, fell in love with a mortal named Callisto. Zeus's wife Hera became jealous of Callisto and changed her into a bear. Callisto roamed the forests in fear. One day she came upon a hunter. Recognizing him as her son Arcas, she happily approached. Arcas, thinking this bear was about to attack, raised his bow to defend himself. Looking down, Zeus saw what was about to happen and quickly changed Arcas into a little bear. He grabbed both bears by their tails, swung them around and around, stretching their tails to the length we see today. Then Zeus hurled them into the sky to safety. Still angry, Hera got her revenge. She used her powers to move both bears into a part of the sky where they would never set, and never rest. To this day, both the Great Bear, Ursa Major, and her son the Lesser Bear, Ursa Minor are always visible in the night sky.
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