You also should position yourself in a spot where the northern horizon is clear. [1] X Research source Wait until darkness falls. You aren’t going to find the Big Dipper during the daytime. The best viewing time is between March and June and around 10 p. m. [2] X Research source
During midsummer and autumn, the Big Dipper will be closer to the horizon, so don’t look up quite so high. If you are located north of Little Rock, Arkansas, you should be able to see the Big Dipper all night at any hour and any day of the year. [3] X Research source If you live as far north as New York or further north, the Big Dipper should never sink below the horizon. In southern locations, it can be more difficult to see the full Big Dipper in the fall, when some of its stars may be obscured.
The saying “spring up and fall down” will help you remember where to look for the Big Dipper. In the fall, the Big Dipper will rest on the horizon in evening. In the winter, the handle can appear to be dangling from the bowl. You will find the Big Dipper upside down in the spring and, in the summer, the bowl will lean toward the ground.
The last two stars of the Big Dipper’s handle are called the pointers. They are called Dubhe and Merak. The brightest star is Alioth, which is the third star on the handle, closest to the bowl. [6] X Research source The tip of the Big Dipper’s handle is called Alkaid. It is a hot star that means “the leader. ” It is the third brightest star in Ursa Major and six times bigger than the sun. Mizar is next on the handle after Alkaid. It actually consists of two double stars. Megrez is the star that connects the tail to the base of the bowl. It is the dimmest of the seven stars of the Big Dipper. Phecda is known as the “thigh of the bear. ” It is located to the South of Megrez and makes up part of the bow.
The Big Dipper rotates around the North Star through all of the seasons and through the night. The stars of the Big Dipper are as bright as those of the North Star. The North Star is often used for navigation because it points “true north. ”[8] X Research source The North Star is the brightest star in the Little Dipper and the end of its handle. Trace an imaginary line from the North Star downward, and you should be able to find the two stars in the end of the Big Dipper’s handle, which are called pointer stars because they point toward the Big Dipper. Polaris is about five stars farther away from the distance between the pointer stars themselves.
Throughout the night, it rotates around the pole, counter-clockwise, bowl first. It makes a complete revolution around the pole once per sidereal day. A sidereal day is defined as four minutes shorter than the standard 24-hour day. Thus, you can use the Big Dipper’s rotations to keep track of time. [10] X Research source
Other Native Americans saw the Big Dipper’s bowl as the bear’s flank and its handle as the bear’s tail. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the Big Dipper is called “Plough,” which derives from Nordic stargazing in which the Big Dipper was believed to be the chief god, Odin’s, wagon or chariot. In Danish, they call it “Karlsvogna” or Charles wagon. Various cultures see the Big Dipper as something different. In China, Japan, and Korea, it’s a ladle. In northern England, a cleaver, in Germany and Hungary, a cart, and in the Netherlands, a saucepan. It’s a salmon net in Finland and a coffin in Saudi Arabia. Escaped American slaves found their way to freedom in the north along the Underground Railroad by being told to “follow the drinking Gourd. ” Thus, the Big Dipper was used as a navigational method. The Micmacs of Canada saw the Big Dipper bowl as being a celestial bear, with the three stars of its handle being hunters chasing the bear.
The other stars are Dubhe (105 light-years from earth); Phecda (90 light-years); Mizar (88 light-years); Merak (78 light-years); Alioth (68 light-years); and Megrez (63 light-years). These starts are in motion. Thus, in about 50,000 years, the Big Dipper will no longer retain the same shape.
Remember that the two farthest most stars in the Big Dipper’s handle point to the North Star. The North Star is the first star in the handle of the Little Dipper. The Little Dipper is not as bright as the Big Dipper. It looks similar to the Big Dipper, though. It has a handle made up of three stars that connects to a four-star bowl. It is harder to find the Little Dipper because the stars are not as bright in it, especially if you are in a city.
The Big Dipper stars are the bear’s tail and hindquarters. The Ursa Major constellation can be best seen in April at around 9 p. m. Using a drawing for reference (there are many online) should help you sketch out the rest of the stars that form the Big Bear once you find the Big Dipper. [15] X Research source Ursa Major is the third largest constellation and one of 88 official constellations. [16] X Research source
