Starry Night This Week

Each week most PBS stations air "Jack Horkheimer: Star Gazer", the world's first and only weekly TV series on naked-eye astronomy. The Starry Night images on this page illustrate the show for the week of Monday April 1, 2002. You can view the complete show script, or watch a RealPlayer video of the show.

Looking Back In Time With The Big Dipper

The Big Dipper is without a doubt the sky's most famous asterism, and a celestial site many people are able to identify. In Greek mythology, Callisto was transformed into a bear to escape the jealous Juno. Her son, Arcas, did not recognize her and was about to slay her. The gods then grabbed Arcas and Callisto, by her tail, and dragged them into the heavens as the Great and Little Bears. (This is why Ursa Major has such a long tail)

The Big Dipper is an asterism consisting of 7 stars.

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Click here for an archive of the past shows.