18 | THE COLONY NEWS | JUNE 2022 | COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD
By Mike Vergara, (951) 461-2889
Ah, June! The return of June Gloom is a mixed blessing at
our household. On one hand, it keeps us cool into the early
summer, but on the other it makes for poor skywatching.
Earlier this year, I shared one of my favorite Native American
sky stories. This month I will be sharing another. This one was
originally attributed to the Iroquois Nation, but I have since
learned that many Native Americans have similar stories.
When you look into the northern sky, the most prominent
group of stars is generally known as the Big Dipper. The
Dipper, however, is an asterism (a nickname) for these stars
which are actually part of a larger constellation known as Ursa
Major, or the Great Bear. What we see as the bowl of the Dipper
is the body of the bear, and the handle is Great Bear's tail. If
you've ever seen a photograph of a bear, or have seen bears in
real life, you will know that bears don't have long tails.
So why does the Great Bear have such a long tail?
This story begins long ago, when the world was young.
There was a great bear who was being pursued by a mighty
Chief. Long went the chase, until one day the Chief caught the
bear by his tiny little tail. The bear roared and fought, but the
Chief held on tightly and began to swing the bear around his
head. 'Round and 'round, faster and faster went the bear, until
his tail was all stretched out of shape. Then the Chief hurled
the bear into the sky where the bear got stuck. And ever since
then it's been going around and around in the northern sky.
And that's how the Great Bear got his long tail.
Visit http://skymaps.com/index.html to print your own map
of the sky for the month. For information about satellites, go
to https://heavens-above.com.
Clear skies!
JUNE Sky JUNE Sky
Sam Behar
Ian Forsyth
Ron Gentile
Kay Goldberg
Harold Provin
Sofia Sadler
Bob Senenfelder
Norman Stoffer
Carol Swanke
Diana Walsh
In Memoriam
