The bear refers the constellation Ursa Major (or possibly Ursa Minor), as these constellations, which surround the North Star, loom high over the northern polar region of Earth.
Antarctic then is just the opposite of Arctic, so logically it means the southern polar region.
This has nothing to do with whether actual bears (presumably polar bears) live in the region; it's due to these bear constellations appearing over the north.
Doing a bit of wikipedia research:
ReplyDeleteThe bear refers the constellation Ursa Major (or possibly Ursa Minor), as these constellations, which surround the North Star, loom high over the northern polar region of Earth.
Antarctic then is just the opposite of Arctic, so logically it means the southern polar region.
This has nothing to do with whether actual bears (presumably polar bears) live in the region; it's due to these bear constellations appearing over the north.
Which in my opinion is equally as interesting.
If Mike Ditka lived at the North Pole, and the North Pole played the South Pole in football, who would win?
ReplyDeleteDa Bearssss.