Re: Little Dipper

In article <fsjnm2lnb33llb8kj1r6ptvi9mbdq749nu@xxxxxxx>,
Chris L Peterson <clp@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Mon, 27 Nov 2006 21:43:30 -0800, "Curtis Croulet"
<calypte@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Does anyone know of a specific reason why Ursa Minor is often called (in the
U.S.) the "Little Dipper?" I'm asking if there's a documented historical
reason. Yes, I know it looks vaguely like a "dipper," and it's close to the
"Big Dipper," and maybe someone once thought that if you have a big one you
also need a little one. All of these are conjectural reasons. But I'm
wondering if there's an interesting first usage or documentable reason. If
someone can offer a reference or link, that would be much appreciated.

I think your "conjectural reasons" are very strong. Add to them that
the two constellations are historically related: Ursa Major and Ursa
Minor. Combine that with the fact that the two are structurally similar
and it isn't too surprising that the asterisms would be related, too.

I don't know how long the term has been used, but I have an astronomy
text from 1879 (Recreations in Astronomy, Henry White Warren) that uses
"Little Dipper" for Ursa Minor (and "Great Dipper" for Ursa Major).

That varies between cultures though. In the UK, the Big Dipper is
usually called the Plough, but the British seems to rarely use the
term "Little Plough" for Ursa Minor.

In my own country, Sweden, we call the Big Dipper "Karlavagnen"
("Charle's Wagon"), and we also call the Little Dipper "Lilla
Karlavagnen" - although the public frequently makes the mistake of
beliving "Lilla Karlavagnen" is the Pleiades. That mistake is
understandable though, since from light polluted cities, the
Pleiadies, which is a dipper-like in appearance, is more easily
visible than the Little Dipper.

--
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Paul Schlyter, Grev Turegatan 40, SE-114 38 Stockholm, SWEDEN
e-mail: pausch at stockholm dot bostream dot se
WWW: http://stjarnhimlen.se/
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