![]() This is one of those problems with Astronomy is people have been looking up since before they knew how to write things down, and a lot of the constellations and all the different cultures date back to pre-history and it’s kind of hard to figure out where they originally came from. Pamela: So there you start getting into pre-history. And that if you actually think of the old-time, hand-pushed, make-your-life-suck plows - it really looks like one of those.įraser: So then, what sort of history-wise, where did this…where did it come from? How did it become what we call Ursa Major and The Big Dipper? Pamela: And the other thing that it gets named as which - I think we live in the wrong culture to see it, but in Europe it gets referred to as the plow. Pamela: Ladle, you could call it a ladle if you wanted to.įraser: Yeah, ladle, pot - absolutely what it is describing… Pamela: But really, you’re guessing when you see all of those things, and…Big Dipper, yeah! So right, but the, I mean, the shape again, I mean, you know you look at - like I’m trying to think - Gemini, Virgo, you know, Sagittarius…when you look at Sagittarius and someone says you know whatever it’s supposed to be…it’s a teapot.įraser: Right? You know, Gemini - you can kind of understand it’s like two lines, side by side Leo there’s a backwards question mark, ok, maybe that’s a lion… It was a bad joke it was a really bad joke.įraser: I don’t have cable. Pamela: Well, so, I’ve been watching TV, there’s “switch your latitude” commercials - I’m saying, “switch your longitude.” Go to eastern Asia. ![]() ![]() It’s actually, in eastern Asian tradition, it’s The Northern Dipper, so our Big Dipper is a constellation if you just “switch your longitude” of looking up. Pamela: And the thing is many cultures, the main stars, the seven stars that we see as The Big Dipper are what are the constellation in just not Greek constellation sets, so if you were to instead look at this in Chinese or Japanese or Korean, it would be The Seven Stars, and that’s fine. Pamela: Well, I think the place to start is: there’s probably already people out there going, “The Big Dipper is not a constellation.”įraser: It’s an asterism - there! Ha! There! Gotcha! Yes, but it is part of Ursae Majoris, so… If you live in the Northern Hemisphere if you’ve ever looked in the sky, you’ve got to know where The Big Dipper is, but you know it’s one of those constellations – same with Orion – it is, on the surface, really recognizable, easy to find, and yet, as we’re about to get into, it’s got inner vagueness.įraser: So then can you give a little bit of history, or like, where should we start on this one? Alright, Pamela, so do you know where the Big Dipper is?įraser: Yeah, me too. We’ve chatted about Orion, and now we’re going to talk about the Big Dipper, also known as Ursae Majoris, or the Great Bear: apologies to our Southern Hemisphere listeners. So…alright, well, we wanted to spend a few shows talking about some of the most recognizable constellations in the night sky. Pamela: It’s bad when your own kids say you’re lame.įraser: Exactly! “Come on, we want to do something.” “…uhhh…watch TV…leave us alone.” So we’ll be a lot better tomorrow, and definitely a lot better today. It seems like this is the summer when everyone is getting sick.įraser: Well, the worst thing is when both parents are sick, you know, so me and my wife are sick and the kids are like, “why are you guys so lame?” We were going to record yesterday, and I was just totally out of it, but it was like a one-day cold, I’m not sure, but I’m feeling miles better, so… How are you doing, Fraser?įraser: Good, a little under the weather. ![]() ![]() Pamela Gay, a professor at Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville. My name is Fraser Cain, I’m the publisher of Universe Today, and with me is Dr. Fraser: Welcome to Astronomy Cast, our weekly facts-based journey through the Cosmos, where we help you understand not only what we know, but how we know what we know. ![]()
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