Finding it in the sky
When to look
In every season and all night long, looking north. Only the way it sits changes: high and upside down on spring evenings, lower and upright on fall evenings.
How to recognize it
Start from the shape, not from one star: four stars in a rectangle are the bowl of the dipper, three in a curved row are the handle. It is the widest and brightest pattern in that part of the sky.
The main stars
- DubheAlfa Ursae Majoris
- MerakBeta Ursae Majoris
- PhecdaGamma Ursae Majoris
- MegrezDelta Ursae Majoris
- AliothEpsilon Ursae Majoris
- MizarZeta Ursae Majoris
- AlkaidEta Ursae Majoris
To get an idea
The light reaching you tonight from Dubhe left it more than a hundred years ago.
The Big Dipper circles the North Star like the hand of a clock, one full turn every night.
Fun facts
These are not in the book: there was no room on paper.
Megrez, the star where the handle meets the bowl, is the faintest of the seven.
Five of the seven stars travel together in the same direction: they were born in the same group.
Mizar and Alcor are multiple stars themselves: in all there are six stars bound together.
The myth of the bear chased by hunters is told in almost the same way in Europe and in North America.
Dubhe and Merak are called the Pointers because they point the way to the North Star.
The group of stars that most of the dipper belongs to is the closest one of all to us.
Test yourself
The first question is the one printed under the QR code, with the answer the book did not give. The other four only exist here.
Question 1 of 5★ is the one from your book
What is the Big Dipper?
Question 2 of 5
How do you get to the North Star from the dipper?
Question 3 of 5
When can you see the Big Dipper?
Question 4 of 5
What is Alcor?
Question 5 of 5
Where does septentrion, an old word for north, come from?
Riddles
Two of us are called the Pointers: just follow them and stretch the line five times to find the spot in the sky that everything else turns around. Who are we?
On my handle there is a pair: a bright one and a little one leaning beside it. Whoever can tell them apart with just their eyes has a hunter's sight. What am I?
Try it yourself
Look for a long time at Mizar, the middle star of the handle, and check whether a smaller one appears next to it. If you see it, you have good eyes.
Watch the dipper right after dark and again three hours later: it has turned, and the way it turned shows you time passing.
The words
- circumpolar
- Circling around the pole of the sky without ever setting.
- Pointers
- The two stars of the dipper that point the way to the North Star.
Sources: Wikidata (Q8918), Wikipedia (Orsa Maggiore).