For millennia, we humans have looked up at the starry skies in helpless wonder, trying to understand our place in the cosmos with no one there to provide us with any answers. Our talent for pattern recognition, even where none exist, have allowed our ancestors to read the sky above and predict the cycles of nature. The constellations told them when to sow and when to harvest, when to expect the arrival of certain animal herds, and when the arrival of winter or spring would come. Countless cultures and civilisations have come up with stories and explanations for the mystical forces that seemed to be influencing the world around them. In this recurring series we will take a closer look at star constellations and the fascinating history and stories behind them. Of course I will also give you some tips on how to find them yourself. For now, the focus will be on the constellations of the Northern Hemisphere, since that is where I—and in all likelihood you—currently live.
Let’s begin this series with one of the most visible constellations in the Northern sky: the Great Bear. It is also known under the Latin name Ursa Major (=Great Bear), the Big Dipper, or simply the Seven Stars, named after the constellation’s seven bright stars. It is the third-largest constellation in the sky. For centuries, the constellation has been used for navigation, not only because of its visibility, but also because it can be used to locate Polaris, the North Star, and therefore the North.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Great Bear is one of the oldest known constellations in the night sky. In fact, it is mentioned in the Bible. In the book of Job, 38:31-33, God reminds Job how little he knows about creation:
(31) “Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, Or loose the belt of Orion? (32) Can you bring out Mazzaroth in its season? Or can you guide the Great Bear with its cubs? (33) Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you set their dominion over the Earth?
Even further back in time, the ancient Greeks believed the constellation to be Callisto, a nymph who had vowed chastity to the goddess Artemis. Zeus, the king of the gods, could not restrain himself, however, and wooed (I’m trying to stay subtle here) Callisto, resulting in her bearing him a son named Arcas. When Zeus’ wife Hera (who is also his sister, but let’s not get into that) found out, she got into a fit of jealousy and turned Callisto into a bear. When, one fateful day, Arcas was out hunting, he unknowingly encountered his mother in the forest and was about to kill her with his spear, when Zeus intervened at the last moment. With his almighty sky god powers, he created a whirlwind that blew the pair up into the heavens, where Callisto can now be seen as the Great Bear and Arcas as the Herdsman (or the Little Bear according to other tales).
It is especially interesting that multiple cultures have seen a bear in the seven-star combination, from the Bible and the Greeks to several Native American tribes. On the other hand, plenty of cultures saw other shapes. In America they saw a big dipper, in Britain and Ireland a plough, a great wagon in Germany and Austria, and in Finland they saw a salmon weir, which is a kind of dam used to catch salmon.
The Great Bear can even be found on the Alaskan flag, which has been designed by the Alaskan Benny Benson, who was only thirteen years old at the time. The Alaskan governor had urged for a contest for the would-be state’s schoolchildren to design a flag. At the time, Benny was living in an orphanage with his brother Carl. He had lost his mother at age three and his father was unable to support all three children. Seeing the Great Bear in the sky one night, he came up with the idea to put it onto a flag. According to Benny, the flag’s blue colour was for both the Alaskan forget-me-not flower and its skies, the Bear symbolised strength and the North Star (Polaris) was a reference to Alaska being the Northern-most territory in the Union.
How to find Ursa Major in the night sky
In order to find any constellation, what you need is a clear night, and an area with as little light pollution as you can possibly manage. If, like me, you live in a highly urbanised environment, you will unfortunately have to contend with quite a bit of light pollution. However, you will be surprised how much more you can see if you walk around five to ten minutes away from luminised areas. Once you are in a darker area, patiently let your eyes adapt and you will slowly see more and more stars. Avoid looking at your mobile phone, or at the very least reduce your screen brightness and filter out its blue light.
Now, how to actually find the constellation. Ursa Major can be seen year-round. Depending on how far North you are situated, and the time of year, it can be seen anywhere from somewhat above the horizon to quite a bit higher up. Start by figuring out where the North is (approximately), and then look a little bit to the East (but keep facing North). Search for the ‘bowl’ or ’dipper’ shape, that is usually the easiest to find. The brightest star—in fact, the 31st brightest star in the night sky—in the constellation is the lowest part of the ‘handle’ or ‘tail’. It is called Alitoh, a blue-white giant, and it is over one-hundred times brighter than the sun.
I have included images of what you can expect to see throughout this article. Keep in mind that because of the Earth’s rotation, the constellations could be at different angles what you see here, but the patterns will remain the same.
In case you want to find Ursa Major using a telescope or star map, here is some more specific information on its location in the night sky:
Right Ascension: 10.67 hours
Declination: + 55.38 degrees
Visible: between latitudes +90 and -30 degrees
Next time, we will talk about the Great Bear’s smaller sibling, the Little Bear, which can also be used to find the North star. Here you can find out more about the mythology associated with Ursa Major, as well as the different galaxies that can be found in the constellation.