7/29/2023 0 Comments Little dipper constellation![]() The Big Dipper itself is actually a part of Ursa Major, a constellation in the northern sky that borrows its name from antiquity. The Big Dipper’s “handle” points to the star Arcturus and you can use the method above to find Arcturus in the spring and summer months in Chicago when it’s above the horizon. Adler Planetarium infographic depicting how to use the Big Dipper’s to find Arcturus. And if you’re lucky enough to spot Arcturus, congratulations! That means you’ve also spotted Boötes the Herdsman, as Arcturus is the brightest star in that constellation. ![]() Three stars make up the “handle” and four stars make up the “bowl.” But did you know that two of the stars in the bowl, known as Merak and Dubhe, can actually help you find Polaris, or the North Star? Adler Planetarium infographic depicting how to use the Big Dipper to find the North Star, Polaris.īut that’s not all! Get ready to impress your friends at parties because the Big Dipper can also help you find the star Arcturus during the spring and summer months. What’s the first constellation you see? If you thought to yourself “the Big Dipper,” you’re not alone! In Western culture, it’s often one of the first things we learn to recognize in the night sky as children.įor many people in the United States, this recognizable grouping of stars represents a large spoon. To the Moguls (Mongolian empire) it was the peg holding the world together.It’s night and you’re looking up into the night sky. In Norse mythology the Pole Star is the jewel on the end of the spike that the gods stuck through the universe and around which the sky revolves. The dead warrior now lies in the coffin of the 'Funeral Bier' constellation – the Arabic name for the Great Bear. In Arabic mythology, it is an evil star that killed the great warrior of the sky. There are many different legends about the Pole Star in different cultures. Polaris is 431 light years away from Earth: over 6400 million million kilometres (4000 million million miles). However, Polaris does not look very bright to us because it is so far away. Supergiants are the largest and brightest stars, often many hundred times larger (and much brighter) than our Sun. Polaris is interesting to astronomers because it is a pulsating ‘supergiant’. Eventually, in about 28,000 years, Polaris will be the Pole Star once again – for a time. In about 5000 years’ time, a star called Alderamin in the constellation Cepheus will be nearest the pole. About 5000 years ago, a star called Thuban was the Pole Star. We now know that the earth’s axis moves slowly backwards and forwards over thousands of years, so the star nearest the pole changes over time. The ancient Greeks realised that Polaris did not mark the pole exactly. You can find the Pole Star, Polaris, by following a line drawn through Dubhe and Merak, the two end stars in the bowl part of Ursa Major (Great Bear), as this diagram shows. For years, sailors relied on the Pole Star for navigating at sea, with the help of instruments like quadrants and astrolabes. Also, the angle of the star above the horizon gives you your latitude (north-south position on the Earth’s surface). This means you can use it like a compass to find north. The reason Polaris is so important is that it is almost directly above the North Pole. This is the star at the very end of the bear’s long tail. ![]() By far the most important and famous star in Ursa Minor is the North or Pole Star, known as Polaris. In North America, the shape is called the Little Dipper. Polaris is the brightest star in the Ursa Minor constellation, and has been used by sailors for navigating at sea.Īstronomers usually call the Little Bear constellation Ursa Minor (Latin for ‘little bear’).
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