The Big Dipper
The Big Dipper has been a well known group of stars to all
northerners throughout the ages. It's an asterism (a pattern of
stars that isn't a constellation in itself) that makes up part of
Ursa Major (the Great Bear). Now known in parts of the UK as "The
Plough," it has also been called "Charles' Wain" in England, and is
still called "Karlavagnen" in Scandinavia, and "The Great Cart" in
Germany. Of course the Big Dipper's two "pointer stars" on the
outside of the dipper bowl align to point to Polaris, the North
Star which is very close to the north
celestial pole, an imaginary axis around which the earth
spins.
How to get to the caches in the Big Dipper
series:
Start from the Blackfoot Lake Staging
Area, in the northeast corner of the Recreation Area about
a 40 minute drive east of Edmonton on the Yellowhead. The turnoff
to the staging area is the first right immediately after the The
Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village. Park in the ample parking lot
and strike out straight south on the Blackfoot Trail. The trail
quickly turns east, and then southeast after the junction with the
Wellsite Trail. Continue south on the Morningside Trail (what a
great name!) until you meet the Blackfoot Trail again. All of the
caches in the Big Dipper series are accessible from the southern
and eastern sections of the Blackfoot Trail.
The Blackfoot Lake Staging Area is the most utilized darksite
for star gazing by Edmonton Centre members of the Royal
Astronomical Society (thanks to Scratch_ for that reminder!). This
makes the area a rather fitting home for the Big Dipper series.
Alkaid
Alkaid is at the end of the handle of the Big Dipper. It's
an arabic name meaning "the leader", referring to the ancient idea
that a funeral bier was being lead by three daughters, Alkaid,
Mizar and Alioth. Unlike all the other stars in the Big Dipper,
which are moving together through space as a group, Alkaid and
Dubhe (the front bowl star in the dipper) are moving in their own
directions. This means that some day there will be no more Big
Dipper as we see it now. (source: Jim Kaler's STARS website)
Alkaid is about 101 light years away, so think about it, if you
go out and look at the star tonight, you're seeing light that left
Alkaid about 101 years ago, which makes it around 1907. At that
time in the Edmonton area the "Bulletin paper took a census and
discovered 1/5 of Edmonton, Alberta was living in tents, some 1,098
tents. Those living in tents were required to buy a license and
usually spent 15 to 20 dollars for a floor and sidings." (source) Times have changed quite a bit while Alkaid's
light was travelling to earth.
Have fun hiking the trails and finding the cache!