OTHER EYES/OTHER VIEWS (Rev 10/17/2013)

OTHER EYES/OTHER VIEWS (Rev 10/17/2013)

Part I: The constellations and stars shown by the Voyager program come mainly from countries around the Mediterranean Sea. Besides being a character in the Harry Potter movies, Draco was a dragon in Greco-Roman mythology. Perseus and Andromeda are from Greek mythology. Gemini is Latin for twins but the “twin” stars story came from Greek mythology. The constellation Taurus was associated with a bull in ancient Egypt while the star names Mizar & Vega are of Arabic origin.

In Part I of this lab you will look for constellation names and descriptions from other cultures. Pick one culture from each group below. Use the Internet to find a description of the constellation from that culture using Google. Fill in information requested on report form. The constellations in the cultures below must be a different person, animal, or object from those on the standard list. It cannot be the same but with a different name because the language is not English or Latin. A little bear is still a little bear even though it might be called ein kleiner bar.

EXAMPLE

Name on Star Quiz list: Scorpio

Right

Culture: Chinese

Name in Other Culture (not English translation): Seiryu

English Translation/Description: Heart and tail parts of Azure Dragon of the East.

Wrong

Chinese _tian xie zuo____ This is the current word for Scorpio. It is not what would have been seen in that part of the sky long ago if you were in China.

#1 (blanks 1-4) Pick one culture from Asia.

Chinese – Pegasus (part of one of the 4 symbols)

Hindu-Scorpio - Look for list of Nakahatras, pick first listing of Scorpio)

Japanese-Orion (look for ancient Japanese astronomy & mythology)

#2 (blanks 5-8) Pick one culture from North America or South America.

Inca – Scorpio (Catalogue of Quechua Stars & Constellations, first listing of Scorpio)

Lakota- Orion

Navajo/Navaho- Andromeda (Search for Navaho Star lab material)

#3 (blanks 9-12) Pick one culture from a warm climate.

Aboriginal (in Australia) – Orion

Hawaii- Bootes

Africa – search for Starlab African Mythology Cylinder- Taurus

#4 (blanks 13-16) Pick one culture from a cold climate.

Inuit – Ursa Major (Big Dipper part)

Norse - Cassiopeia

Part II

Pick one of the constellations on the Star Quiz list for either semester. Come up with a new name and description. Put on report form.

Student’s Example: Orion becomes the Bambino (Babe Ruth). Instead of a hunter the figure is a baseball player with the club becoming a bat.

Part III Star Names

For these stars find out where the name of the star originated and the meaning of the name. Your answer must be for the name given below not just any name/country listed for the star.

Example: Fomalhaut Arabic origin Means mouth of the whale.

Star List: Arcturus, Rigel, Altair, Deneb, Aldebaran, Polaris