Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 4: Get in the right position
• Part 2 of 4: Finding the Big Dipper
• Part 3 of 4: Learn about the Myths and Legends of the Big Dipper
• Part 4 of 4: Finding the Little Bear and the Big Bear
• Tips

The Big Dipper is perhaps the most famous group of stars in the sky. It is part of a larger constellation, Ursa Major (or the Great Bear), and features in the legends of many cultures. It can help you navigate and determine the time. The Saucepan is not very difficult to spot if you know what you are looking for.

To step

Part 1 of 4: Get in the right position

1. Find the right place. Stand in a place where there is no bright lighting. You have a better chance of seeing the Big Dipper in an area where there is little light pollution.
   • Also look for a place where the northern horizon is clear.
   • Wait until it gets dark. You will not see the Big Dipper during the day. The Steelpan can be seen all year round in our regions, but best between March and June, around 10 pm.
2. Look north. To find the Big Dipper you have to look north. Determine which direction is north using a compass or a map. Look at the sky above you with your head tilted back about 60 degrees.
   • Between high summer and autumn, the Big Dipper is closer to the horizon, so look less far up.
   • At our latitude you can see the Big Dipper all night at any hour and every day of the year.
   • Even if you live near Paris, the Big Dipper will never disappear below the horizon. In more southerly locations, it may be more difficult to see the entire Big Dipper in the fall, as some of its stars may be less bright.
3. Be aware of seasonal differences. The season counts. If it's spring or summer, the Big Dipper will be higher in the sky. If it is fall or winter, the Big Dipper will be closer to the horizon.
   • The phrase "Spring up and fall down" may help you remember where to look for the Big Dipper.
   • In the autumn, the Big Dipper is closer to the horizon in the evening. In winter, the handle may seem to hang off the bowl. In the spring the Big Dipper is upside down and in the summer the bowl leans forward towards the ground.

Part 2 of 4: Finding the Big Dipper

1. Find the Saucepan. The Saucepan has the shape of a bowl and a handle. There are three stars aligned in the handle of the Big Dipper. There are four stars that make up the Saucepan pan (it looks like an irregular square). The whole Saucepan looks a bit like a kite, with the handle as a rope and the pan as the kite itself.
   • The last two stars on the Saucepan handle are called the pointers. They are called Dubhe and Merak. The brightest star, the third star on the handle, is Alioth and is closest to the pan.
   • The tip of the handle of the Saucepan is called Alkaid. It is a hot star that means "the leader". It is the third brightest star in Ursa Major (the Big Dipper of which the Big Dipper is a part) and six times the size of the sun. Mizar is next on the handle, after Alkaid. It actually consists of two binary stars.
   • Megrez is the star that connects the tail to the base of the pan. It is the dimmest of the Big Dipper's seven stars. Phecda is known as the "thigh of the bear". It is located south of Megrez and is part of the arch.
2. Find the North Star. If you can find the North Star, you should also be able to find the Big Dipper, and vice versa. The North Star is usually clear. To find it, look at the northern sky about a third of the way from the horizon to the top of the sky (called "the zenith"). The North Star is also called Polaris.
   • The Big Dipper revolves around the North Star during all seasons and throughout 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 to "true north".
   • The North Star is the brightest star in the Little Bear's small saucepan and the end of the handle. Draw an imaginary line down from the North Star, and you should be able to find the two stars in the end of the Saucepan handle (the pointer stars or pointers, because they point to the Big Dipper). Polaris is about five stars from the distance between the pointer stars themselves.
3. Use the Saucepan to indicate the time. The Saucepan is circumpolar. This means that it does not rise or set like the sun. Instead, it revolves around the North Pole.
   • During the night it revolves around the North Star, counterclockwise, with the pan in front. The constellation makes one complete revolution around the North Star per sidereal day. A sidereal day is by definition four minutes shorter than the standard 24-hour day.
   • This way you can use the rotations of the Saucepan to keep track of the time.

Part 3 of 4: Learn about the Myths and Legends of the Big Dipper

1. Study the myths and legends about the Big Dipper. Some Indians thought the Big Dipper pan looked like a bear. The stars of the handle were three warriors pursuing him.
   • Other Native Americans saw the Big Dipper as the bear's flank and the handle as the bear's tail. In the UK and Ireland, the Big Dipper is called the "Squad", which is derived from Scandinavian astronomy where the Big Dipper was thought to be Odin's chariot. In Danish they call it "Karlsvogna" or "Karels car".
   • The different cultures each have their own view of the Steelpan. In China, Japan, Taiwan and Korea, it is a soup ladle. In Scotland a cleaver, in Germany and Hungary a trolley, and in the US a ladle, in Finland it is seen as a fishing net for salmon and in Saudi Arabia as a chest.
   • American slaves were told they could find their way to freedom up north (along the Underground Railroad) by "following the goblet." For example, the Steelpan was used as a navigation method. The Canadian Micmacs saw the Big Dipper pan as a heavenly bear, with the three stars of the handle as hunters chasing the bear.
2. Learn the distances of the Big Dipper stars from Earth. The stars that make up the Big Dipper are part of the Ursa Major Moving Cluster. The farthest star from Earth, Alkaid, forms the handle and is 210 light years from Earth.
   • 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 stars are in motion. In about 50,000 years, the Big Dipper will no longer have the same shape.

Part 4 of 4: Finding the Little Bear and the Big Bear

1. Use the North Star to find the Little Bear. Once you find the Big Dipper, you should be able to find the Little Bear easily.
   • Remember that the two farthest stars in the Saucepan handle point to the North Star. The North Star is the first star in the handle of the Little Bear.
   • The Little Bear is not as bright as the Big Dipper. However, it looks similar to the Big Dipper's Big Dipper. The handle consists of three stars together with a handle of four stars. It's harder to find than Little Bear because the stars don't shine as brightly, especially when you're in a city.
2. Use the Big Dipper to find Ursa Major. The Big Dipper is what is called an asterism. That means it is a pattern of stars, but not a constellation. It is part of the Ursa Major (Ursa Major) constellation.
   • The stars of the Big Dipper are the bear's tail and hindquarters. The Ursa Major constellation is best seen in April around 9 p.m. Using a drawing for reference (there are many online) you can outline the rest of the stars that make up the Big Dipper once you find the Big Dipper.
   • The Big Dipper is the third largest constellation and one of the 88 official constellations.

Tips

• When looking for the Big Dipper, remember that the Big Dipper is the tail and back of the Big Dipper.