Legends in The

Home , Circumpolar star

Legends in the Sky Time: 15 minutes Everyone’s sky, each perspective unique Visitors: Ages 4 and up, groups of 1–30 Goals for visitors’ understanding Venue: Indoor, day, • Cultures around the world create patterns as a way to organize in the stars. needs a table, great • Cultures’ constellation legends reflect both their environment and values. before a night of • Regular movement of the fixed constellations are used to tell time and make plans. observing • Astronomers use constellations to describe the locations of objects in the sky.

Opening questions Has anyone ever shown you a constellation in the sky? Who taught you to find that? Remember to listen to visitors’ experiences and incorporate these stories later. If you aren’t familiar with the night sky, it can appear disorganized. Humans create patterns and mental maps to make sense of their world, including the stars in the sky. What is a map in your mind that you use every day? (path to school, their room at night) Who taught you that?

Step 1: What makes a constellation? Step 2: Let’s look at an example. A constellation is a pattern that peo- (show this season’s card) Can anyone ple see in the stars that cultures all connect these dots to make a picture? over the world use to talk about. The Or do you see the outlines of a letter, common constellations we now know a shape? Can you point it out with are from the Greeks, and cultures all your finger in this star map? Now, does over the world see patterns in the stars. anyone know the Greek constellation What parts of a constellation do you visible in this star field? (show if not) have to imagine? Does it actually look like a [hunter]?

Step 3: Tonight’s sky. Tonight after it Step 4: Picture a constellation. People gets dark, we will see [the red star Be- everywhere have looked up and seen telgeuse]. Tell the Greek story from the patterns among the stars. These con- current season, how astronomers use stellations often honor things important constellations (see presenter notes), to that culture — values, people, or an- and then tell other legends. Don’t point imals — or indicate a time of year. Look out how the stars connect to make at this star map and see if you can see a that image. We want them to use their pattern. Bigger dots are brighter stars, imaginations — go slowly! so use those as anchors to your picture.

Step 5: Draw your own constellation. Step 6: Write your legend. Use the What values are important to you? themes that are important to you, or What stories do you like to share? Do everyday items that fit into the pat- you have a hero, an animal, or object terns of the stars. For example, if your that you’d like to commemorate? Do hero is a writer, you may see the shape you see any patterns or bright stars in of a book, a pen, or even their face. this star field? Do you have a favorite Maybe you want to tell a story of how sport that happens at this time of year? it got there.

Wrap up questions Would anyone like to share their constellation story? astrosociety.org Let’s see if we can spot your constellation in the sky to- nightskynetwork.org night! Connect to a star wheel before dark or go out and observe their constellation.

Cards to print Participants: Ages 4 and up, groups of 1–30

Notes for Presenter • You don’t have to know the constellations to facilitate this activity! • Respecting the legends of other cultures: It is import- Good links online to legends ant to understand that, far more than merely stories, • Figures in the Sky: the figures seen in the sky often represent ancestors, http://www.datasketch.es/may/code/nadieh/ important native knowledge, and even stories not • Native Skywatchers: told outside a culture, or only told by certain revered http://www.nativeskywatchers.com/ members of the culture. By giving only the name of the figure, not the entire story, we are recognizing that the • Astronomy of Many Cultures Resource Guide: sky is important to cultures around the world and over https://astrosociety.org/education-outreach/ time and that the Greek constellations we use here resource-guides/multicultural-astronomy.html now are just one way to interpret the sky. • We use the word “legends” not “stories” because for some cultures, these are more than stories — some- Extensions times ancestors are memorialized in the sky or it is a part of a larger belief system. • Big Dipper Sky Clock (for Northern hemisphere): https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-resources/ • Some cultures do not use stars to create constellations, make-a-star-clock/ but use the dark spaces in the Milky Way, such as the Mapuche in Chile. • Southern Cross Clock (Pages 17-18): • The International Astronomical Union divides the entire https://museumsvictoria.com.au/media/1896/vce- sky into 88 constellations — regions often surrounding astronomy-astrophysics-student-activities-1-10.pdf the Greek version of the constellations. Amateur and professional astronomers use these to indicate where an object is in the sky in the same way one might use Materials + setup states to tell the location of a park. So Zion National Activity includes 5 pages of sky stories with accompa- Park is in Utah while the Sombrero Galaxy is in the con- nying worksheets: stellation Virgo. The boundaries of Utah and Virgo are both invented and useful. • Betelgeuse • The northern and southern hemispheres see the con- • Pleiades stellations flipped upside down from each other. So the • Antares foot of a dancing man in Australia may be the shoulder • Dubhe (N) of Orion to the Greeks. • ACrux (S) Make 1 copy of the current season’s worksheet for each visitor. astrosociety.org Pencils, crayons, or markers for drawing. nightskynetwork.org Visitors will need a flat surface for writing, e.g., books, clipboards, or tables.

In November through February, the red star Betelgeuse (bee-tel-juice or bay- tel-gyse) is high in the sky. In the Greek tradition, this is the shoulder of the hunter Orion, one of the most well-known constellations. There are many bright stars in this area of the sky.

These stars are important markers for cultures around the world, for example: • North American Dakota tribe see a buffalo embryo. • Brazillian Tucano people see the handle of a wood carving tool. • The Boorong (Aboriginal tribe) in Australia see a foot of a dancing man. • Ancient Egyptians saw the father of the gods, “Sah.“ • Ancient Macedonians were a farming culture and saw a plough.

A circumpolar star seen all year long in northern latitudes, Dubhe (doob-hah), is important to almost all cultures north of the equator. While many use the same stars to make the constellation, what they represent varies tremendously. Greeks saw Ursa Major, a great bear, and we often refer to the stars near it as the “big dipper.” • The Sami people, indigenous to northern Norway, see the bow and Dubhe arrow of a great hunter. • In Hawaiian starlines, the star is a vertebrae in a backbone and this line is used extensively in navigation. • Some Mongolian stargazers see seven Buddah. • The Ojibwe tell of a type of weasel called a “fisher” whose appearance signaled the time to tap trees for syrup.

From November through April, the open cluster of young stars, known to the Greeks as the Pleiades (plee-uh-dees) or seven sisters are easy to recognize. How many stars can you see? • The Mapuche people of southern Chile see freshly dug potatoes. They use this set of stars to help predict the weather. • Siberians see a duck’s nest of eggs. • Native people of Greenland see a pack of dogs surrounding a polar bear • The Tupi see a white ostrich.

Pleiades

From June through September, the red star Antares (an-tare-ees) has fascinated skygazers throughout history and around the world. The Greeks saw the heart of a scorpion and we call this area of the sky Scorpius. • The Boorong natives of Australia see the red tail of a parrot. • Both the Chinese and Japanese cultures see a heart. • Indian legends call this star “the eldest one.” • Ancient Egyptians saw a flock of birds in Antares this area.

In the southern hemisphere, Acrux is seen all year long and is the bright blue star in the smallest of the Greek constellations - the Southern Cross. • The Maori people see an anchor. • In southern Africa, the Sotho and others use these stars, the 4 giraffes, to help signal the growing season for crops. • Incan civilization records a stairway that held deep significance to the culture. • Some Australian Aborigines see the eye of an emu, with its body along the Milky Way. Acrux

Betelgeuse What image do you see in the stars this time of year? Tell a story about how this represents a person or value close to you.

Your Constellation:

Story:

Dubhe

What image do you see in the stars this time of year? Tell a story about how this represents a person or value close to you.

Your Constellation:

Story:

Pleiades

What image do you see in the stars this time of year? Tell a story about how this represents a person or value close to you.

Your Constellation:

Story:

What image do you see in the stars this time of year? Tell a story about how this represents a person or value close to you.

Your Constellation:

Story:

Acrux

What image do you see in the stars this time of year? Tell a story about how this represents a person or value close to you.

Your Constellation:

Story: