We started the year with the star family Kekaomakali‘i in the winter, followed by Kaiwikuamo‘o in the spring, Manaiakalani in the summer and now Kalupeakawelo in the fall.
The four star families are modern Hawaiian inventions that have been used consistently by the voyaging community for 25 years.
They were developed by college students to create a star-identifying system that followed a traditional Hawaiian moolelo, or story, to demonstrate that culture is not static.
A star family, or starline, divides the celestial sphere into four quarters. Each quarter follows a season. The starline is a series of bright stars and constellations that have sections in the Northern and Southern hemispheres.
Kalupeakawelo, the Kite of Kawelo, tells the story of a mythical young man, Kaweloleimakua of the Kawelo clan on Kauai, who possesses human qualities that demonstrate a high degree of skill and acumen. He is noted for his skill in entangling and cutting the strings of other kite flyers.
The Kite of Kawelo, the Lupe, is also known as the Great Square of Pegasus, the mythical white winged stallion from Greek mythology who is the son of Poseidon. The two stars that make up the northern side of the Great Square of Pegasus are Alpheratz and Scheat rising on the boundary that lies between the houses of ‘Aina and Noio Ko‘olau. The two stars on the southern side of Pegasus are Algenib and Markab rising on the boundary that lies between the houses of La and ‘Aina Ko‘olau.
Imagine the Great Square of Pegasus as a box-shaped kite with sets of controlling lines running from the northern and southern corners. The control line that runs north from Alpheratz terminates at at the star Polo‘ula (Caph) in the ‘Iwakeli‘i (Cassiopeia) constellation; the control line that runs northward from Scheat terminates at Kamo‘i (Cepheus), the mythical King of Aethiopia.
From the southern corners of the Great Square, the star Algenib has a control line that runs south to the star Archenar in the River Eridanus, and from the other southern corner, the star Markab has a control line that runs south and terminates at Altair in the constellation Grus, the crane.
As the kite rises and climbs skyward from the eastern horizon, it is guided overhead with the control lines and directed down and into the western horizon. In navigation the pair stars Alpheratz and Algenib, and Scheat and Markab, are meridian pairs. A meridian pair is any two stars that pass through the celestial meridian at about the same time. Drawing an imaginary line through them will indicate the celestial poles, north or south. In the case of the Great Square of Pegasus, running lines through the edge of the box northward would indicate the north celestial pole and would mark the direction ‘Akau on our star compass.
Evening observations
Over the past five months, Venus has dominated the western evening sky with its distinctive brightness. September will be our last chance this year to observe Venus in the early evening. It will be visible close to the horizon in Manu Kona (the southwest). In early September it will set just before 9 p.m., and by the end of September it will set immediately after the sun.
Following Venus will be our next-brightest planet, Jupiter, which accompanies Venus in Manu Kona throughout September.
While Venus and Jupiter prepare to leave our sky for the year, Saturn and Mars will be high in the southern sky. Mars will stand out with its characteristic red color as it rises out of Manu Malanai (the southeast).
While Saturn is the faintest of the visible planets, it is no less beautiful, especially through a good pair of binoculars or a telescope. Through these instruments observers can glimpse Saturn’s stunning system of rings. Throughout September Saturn will remain camped in front of the central region of the Milky Way, which can light up the sky on a clear, dark night.
Morning observations
Through September the sun will rise just after 6 a.m., and dawn will start to brighten the sky around 5 a.m. High up in the northwestern sky will be the distinct shape of a W, or ‘Iwakeli‘i (Cassiopeia). In the eastern sky, observers will also catch the famous shape of Kaheiheionakeiki (Orion). Just above Orion will be the distinctive star cluster Makali‘i (the Pleiades).
Chad Kalepa Baybayan (Kalepa.Baybayan@hawaii.edu) serves as navigator- in-residence and Emily Peavy (Emily.Peavy@hawaii.edu) as planetarium technician support facilitator at the ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai‘i (imiloahawaii.org), a center for informal science education at the University of Hawaii at Hilo showcasing astronomy and Hawaiian culture as parallel journeys of human exploration.
