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Lecture Notes and Diagram

This document provides information about constellations and asterisms seen in the night sky. It defines constellations as shapes officially recognized by an international committee, while asterisms are unofficial patterns. Constellations and asterisms have been important for religions, agriculture, and navigation. The document then describes various myths about the Big Dipper constellation from Greek, Blackfoot, Micmac/Iroquois, and Arabian cultures. Finally, it notes that while the stars in patterns appear close together in the sky, they are actually far apart in space.

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4K views

Lecture Notes and Diagram

This document provides information about constellations and asterisms seen in the night sky. It defines constellations as shapes officially recognized by an international committee, while asterisms are unofficial patterns. Constellations and asterisms have been important for religions, agriculture, and navigation. The document then describes various myths about the Big Dipper constellation from Greek, Blackfoot, Micmac/Iroquois, and Arabian cultures. Finally, it notes that while the stars in patterns appear close together in the sky, they are actually far apart in space.

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© © All Rights Reserved
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Lecture

Notes
1. Constellation vs. Asterism
Both shapes that people/cultures have seen when they looked up at the night sky
Constellation: officially recognized by an international committee (eg. Ursa major)
o Only 88 recognized, mostly from Greek/Roman origin
Asterism: unofficially recognized (eg. The big dipper)
2. Why are constellations/asterisms important?
Religions (explain life and death, demonstrating stories)
Agriculture, when you start to see specific ones a season is coming (eg. Orion)
Navigation (using Polaris in Ursa Minor)
3. Stories about the big dipper
Greek
o Callisto was a worshipper of Artemis, the goddess of hunting
o Zeus saw Callisto and wanted her
o He pretended to be her hunting partner, fooled her into feeling safe,
transformed back into himself, and had his way with her.
o He left, and she discovered that she was pregnant
o Hera, Zeuss wife discovered that Callisto had given birth to a son, and in
revenge, transformed Callisto into a bear.
o 15 years later, she met her son in the forest and he tried to hunt her.
o To protect Callisto and her son, Zeus carried them up to the heavens to
live as bears among the stars
Blackfoot
o A women changed into a bear to avenge the murder of her husband by
her father
o She chased her 7 brothers and their sister into a tree. But the bear
woman climbed the tree and dragged 4 boys down
o One brother used his strongest magic to shot them into the sky to get
away from the bear woman
o The four that were dragged down made the bowl, and the other three
make the handle. The last star is a tiny companion to her brother.
Micmac/Iroquois
o A bear is being chased by 3 of hunters.
o he third is carrying a pot to cook the bear in.
o As the bear tries to stand up, the closest hunter spears him. The blood
from the bear causes the leaves to change colours and become red
o After the bear is eaten, the skeleton remains and travels through the sky
during the winter, then in the spring a new bear emerges and the battle
continues
Arabian (ITP)
o The big dipper is a funeral procession
o There is a coffin and three mourners who are following the coffin
o The coffin contains their father, who was killed by al-Jadi the North star

4. Proximity to each other


Even though they look close together in the sky, they are far apart in space.

Image (without labels)

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