Show Notes
Tonight, we’re sitting under the band of light that we call the Milky Way, where we’ll be telling the tale of the legendary demigod Maui. He’s typically associated with the constellation Scorpius. But instead of a scorpion, the tail and stinger are Maui’s bloody fish hook. And, unlike many stories we’re used to, Maui doesn’t actually belong to one constellation. Instead, he moves through the sky, from one constellation to another. The story of Maui appears across Hawaii, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Tahiti, and dozens of islands scattered across the Pacific, each version with its own specific details and local flavor. It's a living tradition, so we must respect that. For tonight, I’ll be telling a blend of these myths as one story. And much like the life of other great characters, your Orions, your Thors, Maui’s story is rich and full of adventure. Maui’s full name, Maui-tikitiki-a-Taranga, translates to Maui-topknot-of-Taranga. It’s the perfect description for him when we talk about the astronomy of this myth, which, as always, we’ll reveal at the end of the story. But in terms of the myth, it’s a description of how this demigod came to be, from the hair of Taranga, his mother. However, Taranga isn’t excited about her baby. Instead, she’s going to do something that, for those of us today, is unthinkable. She’s about to abandon her baby in the ocean.
More from Star Stories with Ian Lauer
Tonight, we’re looking at a particularly strange constellation. It's about…hair. The constellation I’m talking about is Coma Berenices. A small, faint star pattern just above Virgo. It reaches its highest point at midnight at the beginning of Springtime. Tonight’s story comes to us from ancient Greece, and it’s a unique one…because it’s about someone who was a real person. It was written about 2270 years ago, during the time when this person was alive. There’s some interesting things to uncover there, but the big thing I want to dive into is this idea that the story might be a lot older than when we first see it written down. Because in different parts of the world, there’s some similarities between each tale that, the more you look into, the harder it becomes to ignore. But first, let’s make sure we understand the story about this hair. So let’s dive into the story…about the hair of Berenices.
Tonight, we’re looking at the Summer Triangle, and we'll be hearing a story that comes to us from ancient China. The earliest known reference to this tale is from 2,600 years ago. And the fascinating part about this story is that, as the ages progressed, we can see the story evolve over time to a full narrative. Parts were being changed and updated as time went on. But tonight’s version is going to be based on a version written about 1500 years ago. And afterwards, we’ll talk about how this story shifted from the original version, to one that turned into the Qixi festival that’s still celebrated today. We’ll also go into how this story might have ancient roots that connect it with a culture across the pacific ocean, which could mean this story is more than 20,000 years old. But first, let’s return to the woman, tirelessly weaving in heaven.
Tonight, we're looking at the constellation Aruiga, the Charioteer. And we'll be telling a tale from Greek mythology, about the famous fall of Phaethon. While many know this story as a lesson of the consequences of ego and hubris, the famous ancient philosopher Plato say this tale is actually transmitting ancient knowledge about the precession of the equinoxes. So let's dive into the story, and see why some people think Plato could be right.
Tonight we're going to the Philippines. More specifically, to the southern island of the Bukidnon people, a story which was written down in the early twentieth century. It's about a hunter named Magbangal. But what makes it fascinating isn't just what happens to Magbangal. It's what happens afterward. Because when the story is finished, almost everything inside it ends up in the sky. And together, those stars form something that was incredibly important to the people watching them.
Tonight we're looking at the Sun and the Moon. This story comes from the Hausa people of northern Nigeria. And it's a very simple story. But it answers a very strange question. Why does the Sun chase the Moon? And the incredible part about this story? There's fantastic observational astronomy encoded within such a short tale. So let's go back to a time when they weren't enemies. Because once you hear what happened... you might understand why the Sun has never stopped chasing him.