same stars, different names
Throughout history, every culture has found shapes in the stars and told stories about the sky. But the stories don’t always agree on what shapes there are or what the shapes represent.
The Big Dipper is a great example of this. Nearly everyone on Earth knows the star pattern that makes up the most recognizable part of Ursa Major, the official “Great Bear” constellation.
The Big Dipper is a great example of this. Nearly everyone on Earth knows the star pattern that makes up the most recognizable part of Ursa Major, the official “Great Bear” constellation.
The Big Dipper even appears on flags and in works of art. Van Gogh's painting Starry Night Over the Rhone features this famous star pattern, and so does the state flag of Alaska in the United States.
But even though everyone sees the same stars, not everyone sees the same shape. Past, and even present-day cultures see the famous seven star pattern as a variety of things including a bear, a spotted bull, a wild boar, a group of seven bears or other animals (each star is one animal), a chariot, a wagon, a plough, a dipper, a saucepan, and even a celestial courtyard for the Queen of the Heavens (the four stars mark the four corners).
What do you think? Can you see those shapes in the star pattern? What other shapes can you see?
But even though everyone sees the same stars, not everyone sees the same shape. Past, and even present-day cultures see the famous seven star pattern as a variety of things including a bear, a spotted bull, a wild boar, a group of seven bears or other animals (each star is one animal), a chariot, a wagon, a plough, a dipper, a saucepan, and even a celestial courtyard for the Queen of the Heavens (the four stars mark the four corners).
What do you think? Can you see those shapes in the star pattern? What other shapes can you see?