ABrister-AST201-Lab6

NAME & USERNAME: ALEXANDRA BRISTER SECTION: 011 LAB 6-1 LAB 6 FIGURES IN THE SKY INTRODUCTION The Sun, Moon and the night sky are prominent features of many Indigenous knowledge systems. Although the night sky may look different where these different Peoples call home, there are remarkable similarities in the practice of using the sky as a navigational tool, calendar, or visual aid for passing on knowledge from generation to generation. Many Indigenous cultures have their own system of constellations which are integral to their ways of life: a rising constellation might mean it ’ s time to plant seeds, another might point the way home, while others may tell the story of how the world and First Peoples came to be. In this lab we will explore some constellations from different Indigenous Astronomies to learn how the night sky has been central to human cultures for millennia. LEARNING GOALS The points below are the expected topics to understand by the end of this lab period. Remember to review these points before completing the lab. If you do not understand one, review the steps that cover it and discuss with your instructor. • Learn how the night sky is central to many Indigenous Astronomies around the world • Explore some constellations of different Indigenous Astronomies • Describe the importance of dark sky in indigenous and modern astronomy

NAME & USERNAME: ALEXANDRA BRISTER SECTION: 011 LAB 6-2 STEP 1: CONSTELLATIONS IN DIFFERENT CULTURES In this section, we will use the website of figuresinthesky.visualcinnamon.com , developed by N. Bremer, which help us visualize and explore stars and constellations viewed by some Indigenous cultures. Though it has many Indigenous constellations, it is by no means an exhaustive list! 1. [0.5pt] Go to the website and scroll down to the first constellation image under “The same sky, different figures” . You should see the Western constellation Orion with Betelgeuse highlighted (if not, click the bubble that says “ Western / Orion” ). Now click on the bubble labeled “ Tupi / old man”. Which cluster(s) of stars from Orion (labeled in the figure) is not included in the Old Man constellation? A. Club B. Bow C. Belt D. Sword 2. [0.5pt] Now look at the other constellations that include Betelgeuse. How many of the constellations look like a person to you? Write down some of the cultures and their constellation names. There are 6 other constellations that include Betelgeuse that look like people to me. The giant in Arabic culture, old man in Tupi culture, Orion in western culture, sah in Egyptian culture, first slim one in Navajo culture, wintermaker in Ojibwe culture, and the sticks in Sardinian culture all look like people to me. They all include Betelgeuse in their cluster. 3. [1pt] Scroll down to the next section which lists the names of several stars. Click on Aldebaran . For each of the cultures below, write the name of the constellation: Culture Constellation Western Taurus Arabic The bull Macedonian Fox Belarusian The grass snakes

NAME & USERNAME: ALEXANDRA BRISTER SECTION: 011 LAB 6-4 Culture: ______Mongolian______________________________ Constellation: ______The three stags_________________________ Culture: _________Chinese_________________________ Constellation: ________Drum at the river____________________

NAME & USERNAME: ALEXANDRA BRISTER SECTION: 011 LAB 6-5 STEP 2: CONSTELLATION STORIES The Hawaiian Astronomical Society writes the following about the constellation Scorpius and Maui ’ s Fishhook 1 : In Greek mythology, the story of Scorpius involves Orion, the hunter. Orion boasted that he was the greatest hunter in the universe. When Zeus' wife, Hera, heard what he was saying, she became infuriated and sent a poisonous scorpion to kill him. Orion fought with this creature for days and nights without any success. When weary Orion was not looking, the creature sneaked in and stung him to death. Zeus took pity on Orion and placed him in the heavens where he appears as a giant, with a girdle, sword, lion's skin, and club. Hera placed the scorpion in the heavens at the opposite end of the sky, so even now, Orion tries to avoid the creature by hiding until it is completely under the horizon. On the other hand, Scorpius rises in the east when a few stars of Orion still linger above the western horizon. In Hawaii, we know Scorpius as the demigod Maui's Fishhook. One day Maui went fishing with his brothers in their outrigger canoe. He brought with him a magic fishhook, instructing his brothers that whatever he caught with it, they were to continue paddling and never look back. Maui caught a huge object and asked his brothers to paddle harder while he pulled the line. As Maui hauled, many rocks appeared. The more he pulled, the more rocks appeared. Finally, he pulled hard enough that the large chunks of land surfaced from the ocean. His brothers, tired from all the rowing, and curious about Maui's catch, looked back. One of the brothers called out, "Look, Maui is pulling up land!" Furious, Maui responded, "Fools! Had you not looked back, these islands would have been a great land." We now know these islands as Hawaii. New Zealanders tell a similar story about Maui and their land. Use your imagination to picture how the Ancient Greeks saw Scorpius and how the Native Hawaiians saw Maui ’ s Fishhook in the stars below. In the space provided, do your best to fill in the pictures you imagined. For example, if you drew the constellation Orion, it might look like these pictures below 2 : Draw Scorpius below: Draw Maui’s Fishhook below: 1 Scorpius and Maui’s Fishhook website from the Hawaiian Astronomical Society: www.hawastsoc.org/deepsky/sco/ 2 Image credits: Left — Richard David Serros at www.serrosstudios.com/orion-gallery/; Right — Atse’et’sozi, Navajo, Chinle Unified School District.