Posted by Martin Honor on December 13, 2012 at 09:04:24 user MartinH.
In Reply to: Re: Swallows and Amazons: when? posted by Andy Clayton on December 11, 2012 at 07:37:46:
"'Sauce-pan in the sky' comment. Maybe John got confused and saw ursa minor, which carries the same shape of stars but is about 1/2 the size of ursa major. It is in the opposite sector of the sky, so he didn't use it for navigation or he would have got completely lost."
If John knew his stars, and I expect he did, he could use Ursa Minor for navigation. Many know the two stars at the "front" of of Ursa Major point to the Pole Star. What is less well-known is that the Pole Star is the tail-end of the "handle" of Ursa Minor, which also resembles a saucepan. It is the brightest start in that constellation and is officially Ursa Minor Alpha.