Alioth overhead on May 11, 2024
- On return from Lake Ballinger, the clear blue skies made me want to observe a few stars tonight. I stepped outside around 10PM and found the Big Dipper almost directly overhead, upside down from my familiar view. Mary was calling for the cat, who quickly ran to the door. I stepped back and startled Narda, who did not expect anyone to be outside.
- Jordanus (constellation)
Jordanus (the Jordan River) was a constellation introduced in 1612 (or 1613) on a globe by Petrus Plancius and first shown in print by Jakob Bartsch in his book Usus Astronomicus Planisphaerii Stellati (1624). One end lay in the present-day Canes Venatici and then it flowed through the areas now occupied by Leo Minor and Lynx, ending near Camelopardalis. This constellation was not adopted in the atlases of Johann Bode and fell into disuse.