When I was a young cub in British
Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest, my family lived far from any city lights, and
the night skies were glorious. My mom and I used to marvel at all the stars.
She taught me the names of many constellations. A “constellation” is an
interesting pattern of stars in the sky.
Mom especially liked to point
out Ursa Major, a constellation whose name is ancient Latin for “Great Bear.”
You might also know this constellation as the “Big Dipper.”
Near “Ursa Major” is a
constellation called “Ursa Minor,” the little bear. Hey, that could be me! Ursa
Minor is also called the “Little Dipper” (but nobody better call me a dip). Ursa Minor can be a bit harder to spot
in city skies than Ursa Major, but the star at the tip of its “handle” is
really important: it’s the North Star, Polaris!
The whole northern sky seems
to rotate around Polaris. Do you remember me talking about Earth’s North Pole
in my previous post? Polaris is pretty much where Earth's North Pole seems to
point in the night sky. Whenever you can see Polaris, you always know in which
direction North is.
I keep this picture on my
wall to remind me of my cubhood. The pattern above our heads shows the
constellation Ursa Major.
Now, an “observatory” is a
wonderful place to learn more about the sky. The city of Wellington, in New
Zealand, has a great one called the Carter Observatory. Let me show you around!
photo courtesy of Carter Observatory
This is a picture of the observatory's Pelorus
Trust Planetarium. A “planetarium” is an indoor theatre where you can watch shows
about astronomy and the night sky. I really enjoyed learning about the
constellations that you can see from New Zealand!
After the show, we walked
into the “Space, Time, and Matter Gallery.” Exhibits in this room tell you
about both the modern science of astronomy, and about how the original settlers
of New Zealand – the Maori people – understood the sky and their place in the
universe.
The Maori call the Earth “Papatuanuku,”
and the Milky Way “Te Ikaroa.” They’ve named the observatory “Te Ara Whanui ki
te Rangi,” which means “the expansive pathway to the heavens.” That’s pretty, eh?
The Maori name for New
Zealand is also really pretty: it’s “Aotearoa,” which means “the long white
cloud.” The Maoris’ Polynesian ancestors travelled to Aotearoa about one
thousand years ago! They were amazing
sailors to have travelled so bravely over the huge Pacific Ocean.
Here I am in the Space, Time,
and Matter Gallery, looking at a picture of Te Ikaroa – our home galaxy, the
Milky Way. The arrow points where our own star, the Sun, sits among all the
billions of stars that make up the Milky Way Galaxy!
This is a picture of our
solar system. The “solar system” is the family of planets, moons, and other
bits that all orbit around the sun.
Happily, my new friend Tracey
knew how to pull me free in the nick of time. Here she is holding me while I
catch my breath. We’re in the Pickering Gallery. It’s named after Sir William
Pickering, a physicist who was born in Wellington. Pickering worked for NASA,
and helped launch many important space missions.
Here I am launching a rocket, just like Pickering’s team!
This is the Tuhura Module, where
I controlled a spaceship during my own mission. OK, Tracey helped me a lot.
I even got to take a look through the eyepiece!
The observatory also has a great library of books, old and new, and historic astronomical artifacts. Look at this gorgeous old telescope!
Pelorus Trust Planetarium photo courtesy Carter Observatory
Other photos and story © S.
Clouthier
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