What's Up! (Fact & Fantasy about the Big Dipper)
by Stardancer

If you were asked to pick out the most recognized constellation in the night sky, it would probably be the Big Dipper. Over the centuries, this constellation has been used as a navigational aid, as a celestial tool to tell the future, and was even used to determine the quality of a persons eyesight.

Paintings and stories of the Big Dipper can be found in many cultures, some dating as far back as 1400 B.C.E. In the Wu Liang tomb, China (2nd century CE), a stone relief was found of the Big Dipper being used as a carriage and a royal figure was seated on a platform held inside of the open area of the Dipper. Other paintings have been found depicting the Dipper as a chariot being pulled by horses - the three stars that make up the handle of the Dipper.

In the book, "The Way of Qigong" (pronounced 'chi-gong) by Kenneth S. Cohen, the stars of the Big Dipper have special significance in the Chinese culture. In ancient China, each of the stars in this constellation was related to one of China's provinces. If a court astrologer saw a shooting star moving eastward toward a particular dipper star, he might divine that the province of Chu was to be attacked from the east. The dipper is also a cosmic timepiece; the handle of the dipper makes a complete 360-degree circuit during the course of a year. In the spring, the handle points east, in the summer south, in the fall west, and in the winter, north, thus exactly corresponding to the season-direction. In qigong (energy exercise) theory, the dipper is a reservoir of cosmic qi (celestial energy), collecting qi from all the other constellations and stars as it makes its yearly course around the heavens.

Native American cultures used the Big Dipper to determine if a young man could see well enough to become a warrior for his tribe. An elder would take the potential warrior out into a dark star field and ask him to describe what he saw in the handle of the Big Dipper. If the youth stated that he saw a double star in the center of the handle, the elder knew that he had eyesight good enough to find his mark when hunting for food or defending his tribe.

The Big Dipper is part of a larger constellation known as Ursa Major, or the Great Bear. The term 'asterism' is used to describe constellations like the Big Dipper that are a more notable part of a larger constellation than the asterism itself. In Greek mythology, the nymph Callisto bore a child, Arcas, after being abducted by Zeus. When Hera, the wife of Zeus, found out about the child, she turned Callisto into a bear. Arcas grew up to be a strong hunter, and one day while in the forest, Callisto heard his voice and rushed to see her long lost son. Just as Arcas was about to kill Callisto, Zeus intervened and sent both Callisto and Arcas into the heavens as the Great Bear and Little Bear constellations. Some Native American legends told that the bowl of the Big Dipper was a giant bear and the stars of the handle was three warriors chasing it. In the autumn evening sky the constellation is close to the horizon, so it was said that the hunters had injured the bear and its blood caused the trees to change to the color of red. The Big Dipper was also a very important part of the Underground Railroad which helped slaves escape from the South before the Civil War. There were songs spread among the slave population which included references to the "Drinking Gourd." The songs said to follow it to get to a better life. This veiled message for the slaves to flee northward was passed along in the form of songs since a large fraction of the slave population was illiterate.

Using the two stars at the lower end of the cup in the Big Dipper as 'pointer stars', it is easy to find the Little Bear or as it is more often called, the Little Dipper constellation. The two 'pointer stars' point to the 'North Star' called Polaris, that is the last star in the tail of the Little Dipper. Polaris, and the stars that surround it, for thousands of years have been used for navigation because Polaris is positioned at the 'north celestial pole', meaning it says stationery in the heavens, and all other stars in the northern hemisphere rotate around it. The ancient astronomer Thales from around 600 B.C.E. wrote that the Phoenician mariners of his time would use the stars that rotated around Polaris for navigation. On land as well, travelers making long journeys that could take days would check the circumpolar stars when they came to rest at night to ensure they were indeed heading in the correct direction to reach their final destination.

If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, you can use the Big Dipper to easily locate many other stars and constellations. If you follow the handle of the Big Dipper and 'Arc to (a very bright star) Arcturus', you will find the kite shaped constellation Bootes. Continue on that arc path and you will see another bright star, Spica, in the constellation Virgo. If you follow the two bottom stars in the cup of the dipper in a downward direction, you will find Regulus, which is the brightest star in the constellation Leo.

Winter is truly the best season to view the night sky because of the lack of haze often caused by humidity or other pollutants in warmer seasons. So make a warm brew of something tasty to drink, bundle up and get out and see 'em.

Footnote: All observations discussed in this article originate from the East Coast of North America.

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