History of Big Dipper? - By: Tauqeer Hassan

Big Dipper is the third largest constellation and is also known as Ursa Major. It can be easily spotted because it never sets into the horizon. Big Dipper is known as Plough in England. Other star patterns can be seen within the Big Dipper.

The ancient Hindu Astronomy extensively mentioned Big Dipper. It was called the Sapta Rishi which means ‘The Seven Sages’. Big Dipper is considered in China as a part of Northern Dipper, it has seven stars which when taken together is called ‘The Seven Stars of the Northern Dipper’.

The four stars of Big Dipper are seen as a coffin in the Middle East. The other three stars beside are seen as mourners.

It is not clear who or when the Big Dipper was sighted. As a part of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, it may have been seen and named for several thousand years. In 2006, A Chinese named Wu Jiacai had found a stone carving of the Neolithic times of 9,500 BC. He picked up a stone which was shaped like a yam with Big Dipper engravings. Strange looking images were also found by him which he believed to be religious relics.

A story according to Greek mythology says that Zeus fell in love with a mortal, Callistro who loved hunting and adventure. Hera who was ever jealous wife of Zeus heard about it and quickly turned the mortal woman into a near. Callistro was hunting and her son Arcas was unaware what had happened. Sensing the danger, he sought to find her. Arcas went to a forest where he came across a bear. The bear charged towards him and Arcas was ready for his defense. His aimed at the bear with his bow and arrow and was ready to kill it. At that moment, all what Zeus could do was to change Arcas into a small bear, for saving his former love. Hera’s curse was too stronger for Zeus, he held both bears by their tail and flung them into the sky and they remained immortal over there. This incident was not a secret for Hera. She made sure that both mother and son would not recover and expelled them into a part of sky that never set.

The Big Dipper has exoplanets or livable planets around it which are ten in number. They all are not found orbiting the Big Dipper’s stars, in fact they orbit the stars of Ursa Major. 47 Ursae Majoris b is the most visible star and was discovered in 1996. After five years, another exoplanet was found near it and was named 47 Ursae Majoris c.

There are superjovian planets present near and around the Big Dipper. These planets have incredible size and mass. One of them is the HD 80606 b which is easy to spot.

About the Author

You might want to know who discovered constellation Taurus and also who discovered big dipper.

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