Solar System.
What's Up May 2010: Star catalogs over six thousand years old
Jet Propulsion Laboratory https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ May 10, 2010
The earliest star catalogs are over six thousand years old, but the stories are even older.
Transcript
Jane Houston Jones: What's Up for May? Constellation stories.
Hello and welcome. I'm Jane Houston Jones at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
Title - Tablet from late Babylonian era
Jones: Before artificial lights were common, many cultures saw pictures in the way stars were arranged in the night sky.
Title - Background: Chinese star chart. Babylonian stone tablet. Sumerian clay cylinder. Assyrian cuneiform tablet.
Jones: The earliest star catalogs are over 6 thousand years old. But the stories and pictures are even older.
Title - Ice Age cave painting
Jones: Cave paintings in southwest France show a great bull
Title - Taurus
Jones: and dots which look like what we call the Pleiades and Hyades star clusters.
Title - Pleiades. Hyades.
Jones: These paintings go back over 15 thousand years.
Title - Milky Way
Jones: In Australia many aboriginal groups see the dark nebula
Title - Coal Sack nebula. Southern Cross
Jones: next to the Southern Cross constellation as the head of the great, flightless bird the emu.
Title - Emu outlined in stone by aboriginals
Jones: His neck, body and legs are formed from dust lanes in the Milky Way.
Greek mythology tells of Orion the hunter. But other cultures have their own stories and starshapes.
In Australia, Orion appears upside-down.
The belt stars of Orion represent 3 brothers of the Kingfish clan in a traditional Australian tale.
Title - Canoe. Fish.
Jones: They were lifted to the sky for breaking the law.
Title - Ojibway. Cree.
Jones: The Ojibway and Cree First Nations of Manitoba, Canada, see this group of stars as
Title - Nanabush (Ojibway). Wesakaychak (Cree).
Jones: Nanabush or Wesakaychak, who is known for his teaching and trickster abilities.
Title - Mistapew the giant
Jones: Here he appears as the shapeshifter Mistapew the giant.
Here he is pointing to the Hole in the Sky,
Title - Hole in the Sky (Pleaides). Aldebaran.
Jones: the cluster we know as the Pleaides. His outstretched arm is represented by the star Aldebaran.
Title - Mahtootisan Assiniuk. Sweat Lodge Rocks.
Jones: The Cree people call the Pleaides stars Mahtootisan Assiniuk, the Sweat Lodge Rocks.
The constellation Mahtootisan, the Sweat Lodge,
Title - Mahtootisan. Sweat Lodge.
Jones: is part of the legend of how Stonechild was instructed to build a domed sweat lodge over the sweat lodge rocks.
When heated, the spirits of the rocks are released.
Title - Milky Way. Summer Birds' Path.
Jones: The Milky Way is called the Summer Birds' Path by the Cree, because it traces the path of migratory birds.
Title - Niska the goose
Jones: The Cree see Niska the goose flying down the Summer Birds' Path.
Title - Cygnus the swan
Jones: Others see this constellation as Cygnus the swan.
Future generations will have a hard time seeing the constellations described in our legends because the lights of modern cities blot out the stars.
So when you visit our parks and open spaces, look up!
If you are young, ask the elders in your family about stories they learned about the night sky.
You just might uncover star tales and legends that otherwise would be lost.
Title - See NASA images at: photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov
Jones: You can see NASA's images of stars, planets, constellations and more at photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov
Title - Learn about NASA missions at: www.nasa.gov
Jones: And you can learn more about NASA missions at www.nasa.gov
Title - Thanks to the following for submitting material: Edwin Bighetty, Mathias Colomb Cree Nation. Wilfred Buck, MFNERC, Opaskwayak Cree Nation. Manitoba First Nation Education Resource Center. Ray and Barnaby Norris. Fred Watson. Morris Jones.
Jones: That's all for this month. I'm Jane Houston Jones.
Title - NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. California Institute of Technology.
Hello and welcome. I'm Jane Houston Jones at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
Title - Tablet from late Babylonian era
Jones: Before artificial lights were common, many cultures saw pictures in the way stars were arranged in the night sky.
Title - Background: Chinese star chart. Babylonian stone tablet. Sumerian clay cylinder. Assyrian cuneiform tablet.
Jones: The earliest star catalogs are over 6 thousand years old. But the stories and pictures are even older.
Title - Ice Age cave painting
Jones: Cave paintings in southwest France show a great bull
Title - Taurus
Jones: and dots which look like what we call the Pleiades and Hyades star clusters.
Title - Pleiades. Hyades.
Jones: These paintings go back over 15 thousand years.
Title - Milky Way
Jones: In Australia many aboriginal groups see the dark nebula
Title - Coal Sack nebula. Southern Cross
Jones: next to the Southern Cross constellation as the head of the great, flightless bird the emu.
Title - Emu outlined in stone by aboriginals
Jones: His neck, body and legs are formed from dust lanes in the Milky Way.
Greek mythology tells of Orion the hunter. But other cultures have their own stories and starshapes.
In Australia, Orion appears upside-down.
The belt stars of Orion represent 3 brothers of the Kingfish clan in a traditional Australian tale.
Title - Canoe. Fish.
Jones: They were lifted to the sky for breaking the law.
Title - Ojibway. Cree.
Jones: The Ojibway and Cree First Nations of Manitoba, Canada, see this group of stars as
Title - Nanabush (Ojibway). Wesakaychak (Cree).
Jones: Nanabush or Wesakaychak, who is known for his teaching and trickster abilities.
Title - Mistapew the giant
Jones: Here he appears as the shapeshifter Mistapew the giant.
Here he is pointing to the Hole in the Sky,
Title - Hole in the Sky (Pleaides). Aldebaran.
Jones: the cluster we know as the Pleaides. His outstretched arm is represented by the star Aldebaran.
Title - Mahtootisan Assiniuk. Sweat Lodge Rocks.
Jones: The Cree people call the Pleaides stars Mahtootisan Assiniuk, the Sweat Lodge Rocks.
The constellation Mahtootisan, the Sweat Lodge,
Title - Mahtootisan. Sweat Lodge.
Jones: is part of the legend of how Stonechild was instructed to build a domed sweat lodge over the sweat lodge rocks.
When heated, the spirits of the rocks are released.
Title - Milky Way. Summer Birds' Path.
Jones: The Milky Way is called the Summer Birds' Path by the Cree, because it traces the path of migratory birds.
Title - Niska the goose
Jones: The Cree see Niska the goose flying down the Summer Birds' Path.
Title - Cygnus the swan
Jones: Others see this constellation as Cygnus the swan.
Future generations will have a hard time seeing the constellations described in our legends because the lights of modern cities blot out the stars.
So when you visit our parks and open spaces, look up!
If you are young, ask the elders in your family about stories they learned about the night sky.
You just might uncover star tales and legends that otherwise would be lost.
Title - See NASA images at: photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov
Jones: You can see NASA's images of stars, planets, constellations and more at photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov
Title - Learn about NASA missions at: www.nasa.gov
Jones: And you can learn more about NASA missions at www.nasa.gov
Title - Thanks to the following for submitting material: Edwin Bighetty, Mathias Colomb Cree Nation. Wilfred Buck, MFNERC, Opaskwayak Cree Nation. Manitoba First Nation Education Resource Center. Ray and Barnaby Norris. Fred Watson. Morris Jones.
Jones: That's all for this month. I'm Jane Houston Jones.
Title - NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. California Institute of Technology.