Dipper in the Sky

As I was carrying carpet and padding out of the house tonight (after dark), I happened to take a couple seconds to pause and look up.

The sky was completely clear.  and the stars were so bright.

I glanced northward.  just above the neighbors' house.

and spotted them.

7 stars.

together.... making a dipper.

I know there are 2 of them (dippers) up there.

I believe this one was The Big Dipper.  

(Even if it wasn't THE Big Dipper, it was sure impressively big.)

I called up to our daughters to come and take a look.  Once I pointed it out to them, our middle daughter was very excited.  I don't believe she had ever spotted it before, which made it cool that I was able to share the moment with her.

So the geek in me wanted to find out a little more about The Big Dipper....

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The names of the 7 stars are Alkaid, Mizar, Alioth, Megrez, Phad, Merak and Dubhe.   (yeesh!!  what language is that?)

Other informal names for The Big Dipper include the Starry Plough, the Butcher's Cleaver, the Drinking Gourd, the Great Wagon, and the Samantha Formation.

A stylized version of The Big Dipper appears on the state flag of Alaska.

According to one site that I found, Amos 5:8 in the Bible refers to The Big Dipper ("seven stars").

The Big Dipper isn’t a constellation.  The formation is actually an asterism and part of the constellation Ursa Major, which is "The Great Bear". (an asterism is a subgroup of stars from a constellation.)

The Big Dipper can be used as an aid to easily find the North Star, Polaris. (I'll bet Papa Honnold used it all the time when he was navigating the USS Saginaw Bay via the stars back in WWII)

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Looking up at the majestic beauty of the star field above me, it is impossible -- no, ABSOLUTELY impossible -- to say there is no God who is responsible for all the amazement of creation around us.

Every star was placed in its place for a reason.  In the case of Phad (and the other 6) -- at least for tonight -- it was to allow a dad here on Earth to present a brief moment of wonder to his 6th grader.

Out for now.....

Matt