Jul

6

Little Bear.

Posted by Christopher Waldrop

July 6, 2007 |

If you live in the Northern Hemisphere and look due North you’ll see a distinctive constellation known, variously, as The Little Dipper, The Little Bear, or, to the Romans, Ursa Minor. At the end of the little bear’s unusually long tail (in mythology said to have been lengthened by the bear’s spinning around the pole), or the end of the dipper’s handle, is Polaris (Alpha Ursae Minoris), the Pole Star or North Star. Polaris has helped sailors and other travelers find their way for millenia. In fact it was the Phoenecians who used this star for navigation before the Greeks. The philosopher Thales suggested it to the Greeks, and, determining it to be closer to the pole, they abandoned Ursa Major, The Big Dipper, which you can see a few degrees to the West, in favor of Ursa Minor.

According to Ovid, a nymph named Callisto attracted the attention of Jupiter, who got to her by taking the form of Artemis. When she became pregnant Artemis was outraged and turned Callisto into a bear. She gave birth to a son, Arcas, and both were placed in the heavens by Jupiter.

Step out tonight and say hello to the mother and son who help travelers find their way. And keep looking up.


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