I am also inspired by Polynesian Wayfinding. I had the opportunity to sail on Hikianalia a couple years back, the sister boat to the Hōkūleʻa, and I was amazed at how well the crew worked together to sail through the water. We were out there for 3 hours, and I just couldn't imagine being out there for weeks on end. It's just amazing!
i used dipper to find acrturus, i thought it was mars at first it was so bright looked like it had a red tint almost, my first bright star in my 16" dob, looked amazing seeing the cross of light coming off star in telescope,couldnt see kite above it kept seeing a traingle shape underneath it with 2 bright stars and a dimmer one with my binos, thanks for video, gonna look for that kite above it next time
Using the Big Dipper is the best way to find Arcturus. I'm glad you use that method. I can see why Arcturus can be confused with Mars. They are similar in color and are both bright. Mars will only travel though the zodiacal constellations since the ecliptic passes through it. Good luck finding the 'kite' shape! Keep looking up! 🌟
Does anyone know, or have a link to a video going into more depth of how the Polynesians used those particular stars to travel from Tahiti to Hawaii? When looking on a map, they seem more or less North-South from each other...so it's interesting they used a triangle instead of some other more consistently north-south stars.
One thing that i dont seem to understand is... How come the big dipper present that way 2:56. Isn't supposed to be 180 degrees tilted in spring? Can you please explain... Thanks in advance
Thank you so much for a wonderful presentation 😊 I have a question for you. What asterism name is the triangle that lines up with Arcturus, Gemma and Seginus? I've seen this in the book before and it had a name, but I had forgotten what it was.
The constellation Taurus is represented as a bull, which isn't mentioned in this video. Arcturus, the name of the constellation's brightest star, comes from the Greek word meaning "guardian of the bear" and it is very close to Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, the bear constellations. Even the name Boötes, is a Latinized version of the Greek word Arctophylax, which means "Bear Watcher". I hope this clarifies your question...thank you for watching!
Honestly, all three pronunciations that you listed I've heard before. I tend to use the first one you listed because that is the way it was taught to me. Ultimately the International Astronomical Union accepts many pronunciations. Sometimes I feel that pronunciations depend on where you grew up and what your accent is. I hope this helps.