Despite being the eighth-largest constellation, Draco, the constellation of the Dragon, is not especially prominent (its stars are not very bright, but five of them have known planets). It never sets below the horizon and is always visible in the Northern Hemisphere (remember circumpolarity?). The name is derived from the Latin term "draconem", meaning "huge serpent," and the constellation literally snakes its way through the northern sky.
    The head of the dragon consists of four stars (Beta, Gamma, Nu, and Xi Draconis) in a trapezoid and located just north of the Hercules constellation. From there, the dragon's body winds its way through the sky, ending between the Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.
    The name Draco has been linked to several dragons in Greek mythology. One version is that Cadmus, the brother of Europa who was brought to Crete by Zeus in the form of a bull, slayed the dragon Draco in his quest to find his sister. In another account,  the goddess Athena took Draco by the tail and put it into the sky during the battle for Mount Olympus. Draco has also been identified in early Christianity as the serpent that tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden.

~Ally

      The Ursa Minor constellation, also called Little Dipper, is commonly visualized as a baby bear with an unusually long tail. As I said yesterday, Ursa Minor and Ursa Major were related by the Greeks to the myth of Callisto and Arcas (who was Callisto's daughter with Zeus). However, in a variant of the story, in which it is Boötes that represents Arcas, Ursa Minor represents a dog. This is the older tradition, which could explain both the length of the tail and the obsolete alternate name of Cynosura (the dog's tail) for Polaris, the North Star.
      Previously, Ursa Minor was considered just seven close stars, mythologically regarded as sisters. In early Greek mythology, the seven stars of the Little Dipper were the Hesperides, daughters of Atlas. Together with the nearby constellations of Boötes, Ursa Major, and Draco, it may have formed the origin of the myth of the apples of the Hesperides, which forms part of the Labours of Hercules. Ursa Minor with its modern associations was invented by Thales of Miletus in approximately 600 BCE, from what had previously represented the wings of Draco, the Dragon. He did so out of a desire to commemorate the location of the North Celestial Pole, then near Beta and Gamma Ursae Minoris.
    In Hungarian mythology, though, the constellation is called 'Little Goncol cart' (Göncöl szekér) after a legendary shaman (Ursa Major is 'Big Goncol cart'). The shaman's knowledge knew no limit. He invented the cart: his nation was wandering, so the cart was the biggest gift of the Gods to the country. Legends claim he knew everything about the world. Nobody saw his death; his body simply disappeared among the stars.

~Ally

      I was never an amateur astronomer. Neither had a telescope whilst growing up. But, sometimes, I do like to gaze upon the night sky and try to figure out as many constellations as I can. Sadly, though, I only know two: Orion and Crux (which were I live is also called Southern Cross). So let us proceed to today's amusing knowledge!
      Before anyone say anything about it, I do know that Ursa Major is a northern hemisphere constellation. Nevertheless, I find it very interesting and decided to get to know it a little bit better. It is formed by seven shiny stars, which draw a square and a tail (I've never seen bears with long tails, but wha-te-ver). This figure, however, is called an asterism, meaning a characteristic group that doesn't constitute a constellation, since the real one is much bigger, including about 200 more stars. The Ursa Major is visible in the nights of almost all northern hemisphere, also being called the Circumpolar Constellation, but it's easier to be seen from January to October, when it is not so close to the horizon.
    This constellation is so famous that many ancient civilizations gave it meaning: for the Cherokee Indians, the stars represented seven hunters chasing a bear since the beginning of Spring until the Fall; the Brittish considered it King Arthur's chariot, moved by two horses; the Chinese said it was a shell that offered food in times of hunger; for the Egiptians those stars represented imortality, since they're visible all year; the Hebrews also saw a shell that measured cereal amounts; and I believe everyone knows the legend of Zeus and the nymph Calisto (who became the Ursa Major herself) from the Greeks.

~Ally

     Archeology was one of my dream careers while I was growing up. Life, however, turned me into a different kind of scientist. I still love Archeology, though I haven't studied anything in that field for some time. So you can guess how curious I got when I watched a tv show about Archaeoastronomy the other day!
   Archaeoastronomy is the science that studies archaeological sites, their constructions and their relation with astronomical observation. It aims to understand the knowledge of ancient societies about the celestial dynamics from archaeological traces related to the theme. It admits that ancient people used such type of knowledge to orient their cities and temples in regards to the movement of the stars and to count time by means of stone callendars.
    The need to guide oneself through astronomical references in the past was essential to regulate the development of a great number of activities which depended directly on that knowledge for a good performance (such as hunting, fishing and farming). Nowadays, such need seems forgotten, if not decreased and unnoticed.

~Ally