Looking for the Big Dipper
By John Cowens

Online Extra: Big Dipper Legends click here

Summer is almost here and soon your students will be spending time in the great outdoors doing numerous recreational activities. While they're enjoying those warm evenings, be sure they take a moment and look at the celestial wonders in the night sky.

Legendary stars
One of the oldest constellations, Ursa Major (also known as "The Great Bear"), is perhaps the best-known constellation in the United States. Particularly famous is a group of seven stars within Ursa Major that make up what is commonly known as the Big Dipper. Numerous legends about Ursa Major and the Big Dipper have entertained various cultures for hundreds of years. In science, we use the Big Dipper to locate true north and to tell time without a watch.

Seven stars, seven brothers
In his book called Her Seven Brothers (Simon & Schuster, 1988), Paul Goble retells a Cheyenne legend of how the Big Dipper came into being. A Native American maiden creates seven sets of moccasins and shirts, then searches for the seven brothers who lived far away. When she finally meets them, she discovers the smallest brother has an ability to see and know special things. The Chief of the Buffalo nation asks the young maiden to join his people, but she refuses, which causes a buffalo stampede to occur. The youngest brother shoots an arrow into the sky and creates a pine tree that reaches into the heavens. Each of them climb the tree and they are saved. The young maiden becomes the North Star, the seven brothers become the Big Dipper and the bow the young brother used becomes a constellation called Cassiopeia. It's easy to find the bow if you know where the "Seven Brothers" are. Here's how it's done.

Procedure:

1. When you look at the Big Dipper, imagine that it's a two-quart cooking pan full of water. The pan is tipping so the water is pouring out of the end. The two stars that make up the bowl of the dipper are named Dubhe and Merak. They point the way to both the North Star and the lost bow.
2. Draw an imaginary line connecting these two stars and continue it out from the two-quart pan of the Big Dipper until you come to a dim star that appears to be all by itself. This is the North Star. It is directly in line with Earth's north pole and is the only star in the sky that appears not to move. You can find this star in the exact same place every night.
3. Continue the line-of-sight through the North Star until you reach a group of brighter stars that resembles a stretched-out "W." This is the constellation called Cassiopeia. If you connect these stars with an imaginary line you will see the lost bow of the Seven Brothers.

This handy-dandy guide to the night skies and a list of Big Dipper legends can be found by clicking here.

Find your direction
The two stars at the end of the bowl of the Big Dipper are called the "Pointer Stars" because a line drawn between them points to Polaris, the North Star. The Little Dipper is part of the constellation of Ursa Minor and the Little Bear is connected to Polaris, the North Star. Before the Civil War, these stars helped guide slaves to northern states and into Canada. The folk song "Follow the Drinking Gourd" was a coded song that gave directions on the escape route from Alabama and Mississippi. While traveling along the Underground Railroad, slaves used the pointer stars to locate the North Star.

The Big Dipper clock
All night long the Big Dipper appears to revolve around the North Star. Its motion is so predictable that if you know the month of the year, the position of the Big Dipper can tell you the correct time. And if you know the time of night, the position of the Big Dipper can tell you the correct month.

Materials:

• scissors


• glue


• paper fastener


• Big Dipper clock parts (click here)


• sharp pencil


• oak tag or thin cardboard

Procedure:

1. Cut out the two circular shapes and glue onto thin cardboard. Cut off excess.
2. Make a hole in the center of each part with a sharp pencil point.
3. Place the smaller black circle on top of the larger clock part and push a paper fastener down through the center of both parts. Bend open the paper fastener to join both parts.

Got the time?

1. Go outside at night, find the Big Dipper and the North Star and face the North Star.
2. Find the current month around the outer ring of the Big Dipper clock. Turn it so the current month is at the bottom and hold it between your thumb and finger.
3. Rotate the inner circle until the drawings of the Big Dipper and the North Star line up with the position of the actual stars.
4. The current time will be shown in the notch. If you're wearing a watch but don't know the month, set the time inside the notch and rotate the entire clock until the drawings of the constellations line up with the position of the actual stars. The current month will be shown at the bottom of the outer ring.

Online Extra: Big Dipper Legends click here

John Cowens teaches sixth grade at Fleming Middle School in Grants Pass, OR.

May 2007, Vol.37, No.8