Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

Thursday, March 31st.  The sun will rise at 7:25.  It’ll be up for 12 hours and 42 minutes, setting at 8:08.   The moon, 3 days before new, will rise at 6:13 tomorrow morning.

The Big Dipper is in the northeast nearing overhead at 10 in the evening, it’s seven stars shining brightly. The Big Dipper is not an actual constellation, recognized internationally. It’s part, the hind part, of Ursa Major, the great bear. The Big Dipper is an asterism or informal constellation. It is a distinctly North American constellation. For fugitive slaves, fleeing the southern states in the days before the Civil War, the Drinking Gourd, as they called it, showed the direction to freedom. In England the dipper stars become the Plough, or Charles’ Wain (Charlemagne’s Wagon), In France, known for culinary delights it was the saucepan, or the cleaver. So, other cultures saw what they wanted to see in these seven bright stars.

* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan.  They may be different for your location.

Addendum

Big Dipper as seen from other cultures - animation

Big Dipper/Sauce Pan,  Plough (plow), Charles’ Wain (Charlemagne’s wagon), and the Cleaver.