162 Our Surroundings 



form the dipper are a part of it. It is quite easy to find the 

 Big Dipper, but it requires the use of the imagination and con- 

 siderable patience to trace the outline of the bear. The tail of 

 the bear is formed by the handle of the dipper, and the two 

 stars that outline the back part of the dipper are in the hind 

 quarters of the bear. The two stars farthest from the handle, 

 which outline the front part of the dipper, are known as the 

 pointers, because they point to the North Star. The nose of 

 the bear is supposed to be in front of the pointers. The bear's 

 right forepaw and hindpaw are indicated by two small stars 

 below. Two others, nearly in line with these, indicate the left 

 hind paw. 



The Little Bear. Another object of interest in the northern 

 sky is the Little Dipper, also always visible in our latitude when 

 the sky is clear at night. It consists of a cluster of seven stars 

 and forms a part of the constellation of the Little Bear (Ursa 

 Minor). The Little Bear is an interesting and important con- 

 stellation, because the North Star forms a part of it. This star 

 lies at the end of the tail of the bear and forms the end of the 

 handle of the Little Dipper. Before the invention of the mari- 

 ner's compass this was the star "whose faithful beams conducted 

 the wandering ship through the wide desert of the pathless 

 deep." 



In former ages the North Star was the most talked of star 

 in the heavens, because it was the guiding star not only of mariners 

 but also of travelers on land. It is known as the pole star 

 (Polaris) because the imaginary axis of the earth, if extended 

 from the north pole, would reach the sky quite near it. It is also 

 important because the other stars in the northern sky apparently 

 revolve around it. 



There is an interesting myth connected with the bear con- 

 stellations. Juno, the Queen of Heaven, became jealous of Cal- 

 listo, a beautiful woman, and changed her into a bear. Areas, a 

 great hunter, son of Callisto, did not recognize his mother in the 

 form of a bear and determined to kill her. But Jupiter, King of 

 Heaven, interfered and placed both of them in the heavens as 

 the great and little bears. The handle of the Big Dipper, accord- 



