I figured we should start with the easiest constellation to find: The Big Dipper. It is the most well-known constellation in the sky, and the easiest way to find the North Star. The Big Dipper is part of an asterism.

Believe it or not, every star in the Big Dipper has a name! Starting from the end of the handle and around the bowl, the names are: Alkaid, Mizar-Alcor, Alioth, Megrez, Phecda, Merak, and Dubhe.



The Big Dipper is part of the Ursa Major. The handle is the great bear’s tail and the bowl is its flank.

So what is its history? Well, there are many different ways countries viewed this masterpiece in the sky. For America, it was used to guide slaves to the north during the Civil War. They would follow the North Star and, “follow the Drinking Gourd to the north.”

In the United Kingdom and Ireland, they call it the Plough. Quite different from America, right? It was believed to be a chariot in the sky, and it belonged to Odin. This all came from Norse mythology.
 

Our story starts with Callisto. She was a nymph who had sworn off men to Artemis. However, she broke this vow with Zeus and they had a child named Arcas. Hera was furious, and so was Artemis, so Callisto was turned into a bear for 15 years.

She and her son were captured and gifted to King Lyacon. When they passed, Zeus honored Callisto by placing her in the sky. With Hera still mad, she made sure Callisto never bathed in the northern waters. Legend says that this is why the Ursa Major never sets below the horizon in the northern hemisphere.

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CODE BY: KILIKANI EBBETS