When you’ve got visited an island like one of many Hawaiian Islands, Tahiti or Easter Island, often known as Rapa Nui, you could have seen how small these land plenty seem in opposition to the huge Pacific Ocean. For those who’re on Hawaii, the closest island to you is greater than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) away, and the coast of the continental United States is greater than 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) away. To say these islands are secluded is an understatement.
For me, watching the film “Moana” in 2016 was eye-opening. I knew that Polynesian folks traveled between quite a few Pacific islands, however seeing Moana set sail on a canoe made me understand precisely how small these boats are in contrast with what will need to have appeared like an countless ocean. But our fictional hero went on this journey anyway, just like the numerous real-life Polynesian voyagers upon which she relies.
Islands in Polynesia could be hundreds of miles aside.
NASA
As an astronomer, I’ve been educating school college students and guests to our planetarium how one can discover stars in our sky for greater than 20 years. As a part of educating appreciation for the great thing about the sky and the celebs, I wish to assist folks perceive that if you already know the celebs nicely, you’ll be able to by no means get misplaced.
U.S. Navy veterans discovered the celebs of their navigation programs, and European cultures used the celebs to navigate, however the methods of Polynesian wayfinding proven in Moana introduced these concepts to a really extensive viewers.
The film Moana gave me a brand new hook – pun not meant – for my planetarium exhibits and classes on how one can find objects within the evening sky. With “Moana 2” out now, I’m excited to see much more astronomy on the massive display screen and to determine how I can construct new classes utilizing the concepts within the film.
The North Star
Have you ever ever discovered the North Star, Polaris, in your sky? I attempt to spot it each time I’m out observing, and I educate guests at my exhibits to make use of the “pointer stars” within the bowl of the Massive Dipper to search out it. These two stars within the Massive Dipper level you on to Polaris.
Within the northern sky, you’ll be able to observe the ‘pointer stars’ in Ursa Main/The Massive Dipper – proven right here with a pink arrow – to a star in a pink circle, which is Polaris, or the North Star.
Starry Night time Fanatic/Christopher Palma
If you’re dealing with Polaris, then you already know you might be dealing with north. Polaris is particular as a result of it’s nearly immediately above Earth’s North Pole, and so everybody north of the equator can see it year-round in precisely the identical spot of their sky.
It’s a key star for navigation as a result of for those who measure its peak above your horizon, that tells you the way far you might be north of Earth’s equator. For the big quantity of people that stay close to 40 levels north of the equator, you will notice Polaris about 40 levels above your horizon.
For those who stay in northern Canada, Polaris will seem increased in your sky, and for those who stay nearer to the equator, Polaris will seem nearer to the horizon. The opposite stars and constellations come and go along with the seasons, although, so what you see reverse Polaris within the sky will change each month.
Search for the Massive Dipper to search out the North Star, Polaris.
You need to use the entire stars to navigate, however to try this you should know the place to search out them on each evening of the yr and at each hour of the evening. So, navigating with stars apart from Polaris is extra difficult to be taught.
Maui’s fishhook
On the finish of June, round 11 p.m., a brilliant pink star may catch your eye for those who look immediately reverse from Polaris. That is the star Antares, and it’s the brightest star within the constellation Scorpius, the Scorpion.
If you’re a “Moana” fan like me and the others in my household, although, it’s possible you’ll know this group of stars by a special title – Maui’s fishhook.
If you’re within the Northern Hemisphere, Scorpius could not totally seem above your horizon, however in case you are on a Polynesian island, you must see the entire constellation rising within the southeast, hitting its highest level within the sky when it’s due south, and setting within the southwest.
Scorpius, which is known as Maui’s fishhook by Hawaiians, is a constellation proven right here within the southern sky.
Starry Night time Fanatic/Christopher Palma
Astronomers and navigators can measure latitude utilizing the peak of the celebs, which Maui and Moana did within the film utilizing their fingers as measuring instruments.
The simplest approach to do that is to determine how excessive Polaris is above your horizon. For those who can’t see it in any respect, you have to be south of the equator, however for those who see Polaris 5 levels (the width of three fingers at arm’s size) or 10 levels above your horizon (the width of your full fist held at arm’s size), then you might be 5 levels or 10 levels north of the equator.
The opposite stars, like these in Maui’s fishhook, will seem to rise, set and hit their highest level at completely different places within the sky relying on the place you might be on the Earth.
Polynesian navigators memorized the place these stars would seem within the sky from the completely different islands they sailed between, and so by in search of these stars within the sky at evening, they might decide which path to sail and for the way lengthy to journey throughout the ocean.
Right now, most individuals simply pull out their telephones and use the built-in GPS as a information. Ever since “Moana” was in theaters, I see a totally completely different response to my planetarium talks about utilizing the celebs for navigation. By precisely exhibiting how Polynesian navigators used the celebs to sail throughout the ocean, Moana helps even these of us who’ve by no means sailed at evening to grasp the strategies of celestial navigation.
The primary “Moana” film got here out when my son was 3 years previous, and he took an prompt liking to the songs, the story and the surroundings. There are a lot of jokes about dad and mom who dread having to observe a toddler’s favourite again and again, however in my case, I fell in love with the film too.
Since then, I’ve wished to thank the storytellers who made this film for being so cautious to indicate the astronomy of navigation accurately. I additionally appreciated that they confirmed how Polynesian voyagers used the celebs and different clues, akin to ocean currents, to sail throughout the massive Pacific Ocean and land safely on a really small island hundreds of miles from their house.
