Sky watch: Recalling astronomy lessons about the dippers

It's amazing how stargazing often takes me back to my childhood, when I first gazed with wonder upon the night sky. I recall how my introduction to the Big and Little dippers came from a most unlikely source.

It was back in the mid-1960s at my home in Pennsylvania. After enduring our long, cold winters, I always looked forward to the sunshine and warmth of spring. During late February, one of my favorite activities was to brush away the snow in the garden to look for signs that life might be returning. And, oh, what excitement when I first saw those buds of green!

Of course, at the time, I had no idea that seasonal changes were also reflected in the sky, but Walter Coursen sure did. He was an older neighbor of ours and, during early evenings, he would step outside for a cigarette while he kept watch on the world and universe around him.

He was an avid fisherman, and he looked forward to springtime so he could drop a line into the Delaware River. I always enjoyed listening to his grand tales whenever we encountered each other outdoors, but I was surprised to learn that he also knew a few things about the stars.

Just as I would search the ground for buds of green to excite me about the approaching spring, Coursen used the sky for the same purpose. It was he who first introduced me to the Big and Little dippers.

I remember standing by his gate looking at the sky above my house in the north. And, as his pointing finger jumped from star to star, I suddenly saw what he was describing. Wow! There they were: the Big and Little dippers!

He then explained how he found the North Star (also known as Polaris) by following the two "pointer" stars of the Big Dipper - the two at the end of its "bowl" - and how the dippers always reappeared like this every spring after spending the winter months out of sight behind my house.

This week, go outdoors and find the dippers in your sky. And, while you're out among the stars, think back to how you first learned about such wonders of nature. You, too, probably had a "Walter" in your life.