The vastness of space has always freaked me out. While many kids dream of being an astronaut I vowed to keep my feet firmly planted on the earth and for the most part I have kept that promise. I’ve been in planes and boats, but as a member of the non-astronaut human population, my opportunities to go any further away from this planet have been limited. And I’m grateful for that, because I personally think it would be embarrassing to be the person that turns down a space flight. I lived my life mostly oblivious to the major happenings in the cosmos until 2019, when I took a job teaching camp at the Bell Museum of Natural History. While about half of our camp curriculum was focused on earth-bound ecosystems, I found myself having to teach children about space every other week. These kids were not only unbearably excited to learn about space, they also knew far more about all things space than I did. Rather than teach them about space, I found myself fielding questions and comments well beyond my comprehension from my second grade audience. While the kids taught me every fact there is to know about our solar system and beyond, I began falling in love with the infinite stories that are held in the stars, and eventually, I was hooked.
Living in Minneapolis, the conditions had to be absolutely perfect to even get a chance to see the night sky. I loved living in the big city, but night would roll around and the world around me would never go dark. Nevertheless, I would sit on my front steps or at the top deck of the neighboring parking garage or make a special trip down to the Mississippi River to try to get a glimpse of the stars. Living in Effingham, this has never been a problem. Any night I want to, I can walk outside and simply look up and gaze at the universe above my head. Throughout the winter, whenever I felt particularly trapped by the short days and the frigid weather, I would put on as many layers as physically possible, and throw myself down in the snow and stare at the stars.
The Stars from Huntress House as seen by an iPhone camera
The most ubiquitous stories of the constellations come from Greek mythology. Of these stories, one of my favorites is the tale of Orion and Scorpius. Even within this one story, there are many variations, but this is the basic story. Orion, a skillful hunter, became boastful of his hunting skills, and declared that he would kill every animal on earth. In response, one of the gods (this tends to vary), sent Scorpius, a powerful scorpion, to sting and kill Orion before he could kill all of the earthly animals. Both Orion and Scorpius are memorialized in the night sky, but as mortal enemies they are never visible at the same time. Orion is allowed to hunt in peace in the winter, but his time is quickly coming to an end, as Scorpius is making a return, chasing him out of the sky. Frankly, this has become one of my favorites because I can consistently locate Orion and Scorpius in the sky in their respective seasons.
What is so fascinating to me, however, is that these same stars hold in them countless stories. In many Polynesian stories, the exact stars that make up Scorpuis make up the magic fish hook that Maui used to pull the Hawaiian Islands from the Pacific Ocean. This version of the story is familiar to those of us who have watched Moana. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson sings a whole song about it.
Another story from these stars comes from the Anishinaabe people. Because the stars of Orion first appear in the late fall and are about to make their annual exit from the night sky, this constellation is known as Biboonkeonini, the Wintermaker. As Biboonkeonini departs, Mishi bizhiw (Curly tail) takes his place. Mishi bizhiw is an underwater panther that causes flooding and danger as the ice begins to melt in the spring. Traditionally, when Curly Tail is overhead, the Ojibwe people would move from winter camp to spring camp, or sugar bush to begin harvesting sap and making maple sugar. And coming soon will be Nanaboujou, who is made of the same stars that make up Scorpius. Nanaboujou will point his bow and arrow at Curly Tail, and bring with him warmer weather, more sunshine, and will dry the land after the spring flooding. The Anishinaabe stories are my favorite, because they remind me of my childhood in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, and the cast of characters, including the Mooz (Moose), Maang (Loon, the Little Dipper), and Ojig (Fischer, The Big Dipper) are familiar in New Hampshire as well.
Ojig and Ursa Major & Maang and Ursa Minor, from Ojibwe Star Map by Annette S. Lee
Of course these same stars tell many more stories than those I have included, and I am excited to keep reading the stories and learning more about the night sky throughout the summer months, when I don’t have to put on quite as many layers to enjoy the night sky.
Bethany is a strong advocate for Pluto’s status as a dwarf planet, and will be willing to debate with anyone who disagrees. Her favorite planet is Jupiter and favorite dwarf planet is Makemake. Learn more about Bethany here!