No Telescope? No Problem!

One of J's many passions is all things Space. His latest concentration has been on the stars and their groupings as constellations.

Google Earth has a "sky" option that has been very informative. Did you know that the stars have names? I guess I kind of knew that, but other things (many other things) in life have, up to now, been far more interesting to me.

Since J has been catching me up to speed in this area, I thought I'd share one of the "visuals" he used to help me learn more about the stars.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is the Big Dipper (click on the pictures to enlarge):

The Big Dipper is made up of seven named stars. Not only do these stars have names, they also have personalitites--"Staralities," if you will. (That last piece of information did not come from the scientists. J has taken it upon himself to bring this under-researched area of the stars to the forefront.) The stars are mugging for the camera and even have their positions given in a small legend at the top. This is an example of exhaustive research.

First up is Alkaid who is positioned at the tip of the panhandle. This star is a bit grumpy. His passion is walking over rocks. Sometimes he stubs his toe, which would explain his grumpiness.

Mizar is actually a double star. His little friend is named Alcor. He's a tiny guy. Mizar seems to be more cheerful than Alkaid. Probably because he has company.

If Mizar is cheerful, Allioth is downright giddy! He prefers to walk on his hands--for fun, of course.

The first star in the "pot" part of the Big Dipper is Megrez. His face is a picture of sadness. Apparently he has TWO sets of legs: one quite large, one normal sized (for a star, that is). His arms are small and come out of the top of his head. He has trouble finding shoes to fit.

Evidently (I recently learned) there is an "Alpha Star" in each constellation (the largest star). Dubhe is the Alpha Star of the Big Dipper. You can tell by his picture that he feels the responsibilities AND the benefits of his position. Just in case you forget that he is the Alpha Star, he has the Greek letter (alpha) on his hat.

What's that arrow coming out of his hat, you ask? This shows that he is one of the two "pointers" in the Big Dipper. He (and Merak) point out the direction of the North Star (Polaris).

Merak (pointer #2), also has an arrow. His arrow has more information. It says, "Polaris and Mr. Showoff." As you can see from his position indicator, he is directly below Dubhe. Now we know what he thinks of him.

I must apologize in advance for the next star. His manners are, well, less than perfect. I questioned whether he was aware that the camera was on him, but J assured me that Phad was unbothered by his public display of rudeness. They're all made of gas, of course. Phad has just taken things to a more relaxed level.

Now that J has revealed his discoveries regarding the stars, find a telescope and do some star-gazing on the next clear night. I promise you'll view them with a new perspective.