Sky Tonight—April 1, Use Big Dipper to find Polaris and Little Dipper
Polaris is special because it always stays in the same spot in the northern sky. It is the star around which the entire northern sky appears to turn.
EarthSky Tonight—October 16, See Cassiopeia and Big Dipper on autumn evenings
On October evenings, the Big Dipper resides rather low in the northwest sky, and the W or M-shape constellation Cassiopeia the Queen sits on her throne in the upper northeast…
EarthSky Tonight—September 7, Use Big Dipper to find Polaris, the North Star
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Tonight’s chart shows the Polaris, the Big and Little Dippers for a September evening. Notice that a line from the two…
Earthsky Tonight—August 3, Dipper points to Polaris, plus see Mizar and Alcor
Arabian stargazers called Mizar and Alcor the “horse and rider.” These stars are a good test of the night’s viewing conditions: if you cannot see Alcor, there might be thin…
Earthsky Tonight—April 7, 2010: Kochab and Pherkad in the Little Dipper
If you draw an imaginary line between the two outer stars in the bowl of the Big Dipper – and extend that line northward on the sky’s dome – you’ll…
Earthsky Tonight — April 6, 2010: Use Big Dipper to find Polaris and Little Dipper
Polaris is special because it always stays in the same spot in the northern sky. It is the star around which the entire northern sky appears to turn.
Earthsky Tonight — March 4, 2010: Recognize the Big Dipper … and Little Dipper
How can I locate both Ursa Minor and Ursa Major? I am seeing one of them in the sky . . . but cannot tell which one and where the…
Earthsky Tonight — March 3, 2010: Use the Big Dipper to locate Polaris
At one time, sailors’ livelihoods and survival depended on their lucky stars – most especially, the pointer stars of the Big Dipper. Drawing a line through the two outer stars…