The Saucepan may not be a proper constellation but it’s part of much bigger pattern that is a constellation. Still, it’s a good story, even if it probably isn’t true. Historians think that if a lot of people had been using the same route to escape slavery, then it wouldn’t have been long before that route was shut down.Īlso, most of the people from the south who escaped slavery headed for big Southern cities, or Mexico, and the Caribbean, rather than the north. Unfortunately, this story is unlikely to be true. The legend goes that the song “Follow the Drinking Gourd” was used to secretly advise people who escaped slavery in the southern states to follow the Saucepan - which they called the Drinking Gourd - towards the north, and towards freedom. Many people in the north felt that slavery should be illegal all over the United States. By 1840 most of the people who had been enslaved who lived in the northern States had been set free. The song was first published in 1928 but some people say the song dates back to the 19th Century.īefore 1865 many people from Africa were brought to the United States of America against their will and kept as slaves by others. There’s an African American folk song about the Saucepan called “ Follow the Drinking Gourd”. It can often be easier to spot from a brightly lit city or town, as the light pollution drowns out the more distant, less bright stars, making this asterism really stand out. The Saucepan is fairly easy to spot as its big, bright, and visible all year ‘round, and this makes it the best place to start stargazing. In Wales (where I come from) it’s usually known as “ y Sosban”, or the Saucepan. Our asterism has lots of names - in the United States of America they call it the Big Dipper, while in the United Kingdom and Ireland its usually called the Plough. The asterism we’re looking for is made of seven stars. An asterism is a pattern in the stars that lots of people know about but isn’t an official constellation. However, the best pattern to find when beginning your stargazing journey is not a constellation - it’s an asterism. Some of them are less famous, like Coma Berenices - a constellation that’s meant to be in the shape of long flowing hair! Some of them, like Orion the Hunter, or Cassiopeia the vain queen, are quite famous. Many of these official constellations were first named long ago by the ancient Greeks. There are 88 constellations that cover the entire sky of both sides of the world. They’re used to help people find their way around the night time sky. Let’s find our first pattern in the stars! The SaucepanĬonstellations are patterns of stars that have been officially named by the International Astronomical Union. There are also two videos below, originally live streamed on Facebook, where I use the free Planetarium software, Stellarium (download it here!) to point beginner stargazers in the right direction. In this article I’ll show you the best place to start stargazing. But the sky isn’t quite as big and baffling as it seems. Long before I started working as the Assistant Planetarium Producer at We the Curious I used to ask myself these same questions. There are so many stars up there - where do I start? Where do I look? How on Earth can anyone possibly see pictures among all those dots? It’s an amazing feeling, clinging to the side of Planet Earth and staring out into the rest of the Universe!īut for anyone new to stargazing, the night sky can be a beautiful but intimidating sight. Exploring the night sky can be an exciting experience. On a dark, clear night it’s possible to see thousands of stars glittering in the sky.
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